Chemical Vapor Intrusion and Residential Indoor Air

All external hyperlinks are provided for your information and for the benefit of the general public. The Department of Health Services does not testify to, sponsor, or endorse the accuracy of the information provided on externally linked pages

Guidance for Environmental Consultants and Contractors

Sites with volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination are potential public health hazards.  Contact with contaminated soil and the contamination of drinking water are widely recognized pathways of exposure.  One commonly overlooked pathway involves VOC movement from groundwater or soil into nearby building foundations, and then into the indoor air that people breathe.  This pathway is commonly known as chemical vapor intrusion.

The Wisconsin Division of Public Health (DPH), Department of Health Services (DHS) has developed guidance for environmental consultants and contractors addressing chemical vapor intrusion questions.  Basic vapor intrusion concepts are reviewed in an effort to develop a simplified, pragmatic approach to addressing this exposure pathway.  DHS guidance is intended to compliment regulations and policies of cleanup programs in the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Department of Safety and Professional Services.

• Printable copy of this guidance for environmental consultants and contractors.

Additional Resources

• DNR Bureau of Remediation and Redevelopment Vapor Intrusion
• DCom Bureau of Petroleum Environmental Cleanup Fund Act (PECFA)
• USEPA Draft Guidance for Evaluating the Vapor Intrusion to Indoor Air Pathway from Groundwater and Soils (Subsurface Vapor Intrusion Guidance)

Last Revised:  November 16, 2012