www.environment-agency.gov.
uk
Fact Sheet for the SNIFFER Framework
Basic model information
Model name: Framework for Deriving Numeric
Targets to Minimise the Adverse
Human Health Effects of Long-term
Exposure to Contaminants in Soil
(April 2000)
Available from: Foundation for Water Research
Allen House, The Listons, Liston Road,
Marlow, Bucks SL7 1FD
Tel: 01628 891589 Fax: 01628 472711
www.fwr.org
Cost: £35 per copy
Developed by: Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum
for Environmental Research (SNIFFER)
under contract to Land Quality
Management Ltd.
Technical Report SR 99 (02)
Model Update: At the time of publishing this fact
sheet, this version of the SNIFFER
Framework was being updated. Once
finalised, the updated version will be
available on the SNIFFER website at
www.sniffer.org.uk
Hardware: Calculator, pen/pencil
Fact Sheet No. FS-01 February 2003
Brief model description
The SNIFFER Framework (the Framework) is a paper-
based risk assessment tool for deriving site-specific
assessment criteria (SSAC) [1]. This Framework
provides a deterministic methodology for deriving
human health assessment criteria for chronic exposure
to contaminants in soil, and does not evaluate impacts
from contaminated groundwater or surface water
receptors. The assessment criteria are defined as
contaminant levels in soils that minimise risks to
human health. The Framework contains a series of
equations that allow the user to derive these
site-specific assessment criteria.
A set of worksheets containing simplified formulae for
generic land uses (e.g. residential, commercial) are
provided. There are also worksheets for metals and
metalloids, and organic compounds. Lead and cyanide
are considered to be special cases due to their
toxicological mode of action, and separate worksheets
have been produced for the calculation of numeric
targets for these substances.
The Framework provides the majority of the data
required for implementation of the equations, and thus
can be used to derive site-specific assessment criteria.
Environment Agency Fact sheet for the SNIFFER framework 1
The Framework does not provide default values for site
conditions, physico-chemical parameters or
toxicological data. The user is required to select these
inputs from site investigation data and reliable
information sources, where appropriate. All input
parameters must be fully justified.
Contaminants and contaminated media
The SNIFFER Framework only considers contaminated
soil. The primary contaminants that can be evaluated
with this methodology are grouped into:
• metals (except lead)
• lead
• cyanide
• organics (e.g. chlorinated solvents, hydrocarbons)
The Framework itself does not contain any type of
database regarding toxicological or physico-chemical
data for the above contaminants. Therefore, the user
needs to obtain this information from an appropriate
(preferably UK-based) source.
Receptor types
The receptors included in the Framework are:
• children
• adults
Figure 1 SNIFFER worksheet
Land-use and exposure scenarios
The standard land uses considered in the SNIFFER
Framework are:
• residential with gardens
• residential without gardens
• commercial/industrial
• parks, playing fields and open spaces
• allotments
Four soil exposure pathways are included in the
SNIFFER Framework. These pathways only relate to soil
contamination. The exposure pathways included are:
• direct ingestion of soil and soil-derived dust
• consumption of home-grown vegetables
• outdoor inhalation of organic vapours
• indoor inhalation of organic vapours
Dermal contact and inhalation of fugitive dust
exposure pathways are omitted.
Model outputs
A completed worksheet(s) is produced for each
identified contaminant. Also, a risk characterisation
section should be completed providing justification for
all the input parameters and a description of the
uncertainties associated with the assessment. See
Figure 1 for an example of the paper-based output.
Environment Agency Fact sheet for the SNIFFER framework 2
Key features of the model
What the model is supposed to do (model utility)
The SNIFFER Framework allows the user to derive
human health based assessment criteria which the
Framework refers to as “integrated reference target
concentrations”. These concentrations can then be
used to support risk assessment and management
decisions on a site.
The SNIFFER Framework is a deterministic framework.
This means that it uses a single value for each
exposure parameter and contaminant concentration.
Model usability
The Framework is implemented through the use of
worksheets (Figure 1).
The user is prompted to obtain and input a series of
parameters into blank boxes within the worksheets.
The worksheets are simple to use as long as the user
has some understanding of how some of the
parameter values (e.g. toxicological and exposure
parameters) are derived. Although easy to use, the
model requires an intermediate level of competency in
risk assessment. Erroneous “integrated reference target
concentrations” may be calculated if inappropriate
parameter values are input into the model.
One advantage of the model is that it allows for an
audit trail which can be examined if calculated values
appear to be wrong or as part of the on-going quality
assurance and control measures inherent in any risk
assessment work.
Toxicological information
The SNIFFER Framework does not provide defaults for
toxicological data. Users need to identify and select
suitable tolerable daily intakes (TDIs) and adult mean
daily intakes (AMDIs) by the oral and inhalation routes
from an appropriate source. Appropriate sources
include the Department of Health (DoH), Joint
FAO\WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
(JECFA) etc. and the Defra / Environment Agency
documents CLR9 and TOX1-10 [2 and 3]. The choice
of toxicological data used must be justified.
Contaminants and contact media
The SNIFFER Framework only allows for the calculation
of contaminant exposure via soil and vapour media.
The vapour media is evaluated only for volatile organic
contaminants (VOCs). Therefore, soil vapours of
inorganic contaminants, such as elemental mercury,
are not included within this assessment.
Separate worksheets are included for the evaluation of
cyanide and lead. These two contaminants are
evaluated separately due to their toxicological mode of
action.
Lead
As much more data and knowledge is available relating
to lead and human exposure to it, the approach to
deriving numeric targets for lead in soil is different
from that for other metals. The approach does not use
a tolerable daily intake (TDI) but uses a blood lead
level as the toxicity benchmark.
Under the SNIFFER Framework it is not considered
realistic to set stringent soil targets for lead because
background exposure to non-soil sources of lead may
be high and represent a major contribution to lead
uptake, particularly for children. The numeric target for
soil lead should be proportional to the contribution
that soil lead makes to total lead uptake.
A 1–2 year old child is considered as the critical
receptor. The SNIFFER Framework recommends default
values for the toxicology parameters required in the
lead worksheet. Biokinetic models are used to describe
the relationship between lead uptake and equilibrated
blood lead in children. However, in the absence of
validated studies on the empirical relationship between
soil lead and blood lead (known as the ‘delta value’) a
default value may be used to estimate this biokinetic
parameter. The Framework recommends a default
value for delta in the absence of a site-specific value.
Cyanide
The cyanide worksheet is only applicable for acute
ingestion of free and complexed cyanides. It does not
evaluate chronic inhalation of cyanides.
For inorganic cyanides acute rather than chronic
exposure is considered. This is because of the steep
dose response curve for acute exposure to cyanide.
The critical receptor is the small child (18 month old).
The Framework suggests default values for the
toxicological parameters and the one time soil
ingestion rate.
Receptor characterisation
For the SNIFFER Framework the critical receptor is the
human adult female although, as detailed above, the
critical receptors for lead and cyanide are the 1–2 year
old and the 18 month old child exposed daily,
respectively.
The model uses 70 years as the averaging time for
cancer endpoints but for non-cancer endpoints,
averaging times differ depending on land use as
follows:
• 6 years for the residential with and without gardens,
parks, playing fields and open spaces land uses
Environment Agency Fact sheet for the SNIFFER framework 3
• 70 years for tÏhe allotment land use
• 43 years for the commercial/industrial land use
(16–59 year working life)
The body weight or time-averaged body weight
(TABW) of the exposed receptor is calculated based on
the receptor exposure duration (see Table 1). The
default exposure durations are based on the selected
land use (see Table 2).
Table 1 Exposure duration and body weight
Exposure duration (years) TABW (kg)
Pathway characterisation
The exposure routes included in the Framework are:
• direct ingestion of soil and soil-derived dust
• consumption of home-grown vegetables
• outdoor inhalation of organic vapours
• indoor inhalation of organic vapours
Intake via dermal contact and inhalation of inorganic
volatiles and fugitive dust are omitted from this
Framework. It is also important to note that exposure
from groundwater and surface water is omitted.

0–6 13.6
Model outputs
0–30 43.3
0–70 53.9 The output is a site-specific assessment criteria which is
described in the Framework as a “Level 1 numeric
16–59 61
target” (i.e. the concentration of contaminant in soil at
Table 2 Exposure duration for cancer and non-cancer
which adverse effects on human health from long-term
assessment and for different types of land use exposure are minimised). The observed representative
site concentration of contaminant may then be
Land use Cancer Non-cancer assessed against this numeric target.
endpoint endpoint
exposure exposure
duration duration
It is essential that the site-specific assessment criteria
(years) (years) (or numeric target) be placed into context by
conducting a comprehensive risk characterisation. This
Residential with gardens 0 – 30 0–6
should be supplied with the completed worksheet(s).
Residential without gardens 0 – 30 0–6 This characterisation should provide details of all
Parks, playing fields and sources of information and a justification for values
open spaces 0 – 70 0–6 selected for the parameters used in the calculations.
Allotments 0 – 70 0 – 70

Commercial/industrial 16 – 59 16 – 59
The amount of ingested soil and inhalation of
contaminants in air are based on land use and
toxicological endpoints (i.e. cancer or non-cancer
endpoints).
Similarly, the amount of ingested contaminant via
vegetable ingestion is also based on land use and
toxicological endpoint.
Land use
There is no default land use within this model,
therefore a land use must be selected when using this
Framework. The residential with gardens scenario is
the most critical land use of the SNIFFER Framework,
and the most conservative.
The user is asked to select a site allocation factor (SAF)
based on the land use being assessed and any
background exposure. This factor takes into account
the fact that receptors can be exposed to the same
on-site contaminants when off-site (i.e. soils from the
neighbourhood). The SAF is used to ensure that if
receptors are exposed to contaminants similar to those
found at the site from other sources they would still be
protected by the derived integrated reference
concentration.
Model interpretation
What does the output mean?
The primary output is an integrated “reference target
concentration” (RTC) from each worksheet and for
each contaminant evaluated. The generated RTC
requires explanation and justification. The user does
this during the risk characterisation stage where
justifications for the input parameters are discussed.
The risk characterisation stage requires the user to
compile a summary report containing as a minimum
the following information:
• site use (current and intended)
• critical receptor
• choice of TDI and AMDI
• pathways included and omitted, stating whether the
user has considered the significance of the dermal
pathway
• soil parameters (e.g. percentage soil organic matter
and pH)
• choice of site allocation factor (SAF)
An assessment without this information cannot be
considered complete.
Environment Agency Fact sheet for the SNIFFER framework 4
Supporting information required to use the
model appropriately (input data requirements)
To implement the Framework the user needs to obtain
the following types of information:
• present or future land use
• tolerable daily intake (TDI) for each contaminant
suitable for use in the UK context
• adult mean daily intake (AMDI)
• receptor type (i.e. adult or child (with age)
• exposure duration
• site allocation factor (SAF)
• physico-chemical parameters for organic
contaminants
• source area
• soil matrix physical parameters.
Common problems with the model
• This Framework does not contain a database of
available contaminant toxicity values. This means that
the user needs to search for available toxicity values,
which can be time consuming. Appropriate sources
of toxicity values include the Department of Health
(DoH), Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives (JECFA) etc. and Defra / Environment
Agency documents CLR9 and TOX1-10 [2 and 3].
• The Framework only allows the evaluation of one
contaminant at a time. Therefore, many worksheets
would be required for a site with numerous
contaminants.
Common mistakes made when using the model
• Mathematical errors
• Using the wrong units for TDI or AMDI
• Erroneous use of the vegetable uptake algorithms
• Using the Framework when dermal exposure is
important (e.g. when polychlorinated biphenyls are
present)
• Not including the completed worksheets as part of
the risk assessment
• Including spreadsheets which have not been
validated as the risk assessment
• Not including an appropriate risk characterisation
section within the risk assessment.
The user must remember that this model evaluates
each contaminant separately. Therefore, additive and
synergistic effects are not evaluated as part of this
Framework. If the user considers these types of effects
important then they should seek appropriate expert
advice.
Model limitations – what the model does not do
The Framework cannot be applied to:
• groundwater or surface water exposure
• asbestos
• radioactive substances
• metallic mercury
• intake of fugitive dust
• inhalation of inorganic vapours
• dermal exposure
• free product
• organic substances with a high degree of dermal
penetration.
Sensitive model parameters
A sensitivity analysis of the SNIFFER Framework has
been produced [4] and is available to download from
the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
website (www.sepa.org.uk/contaminated-
land/links/sensitivity.pdf).
This sensitivity analysis was undertaken to determine
the effects of varying the input parameters and default
assumptions on the pathway-specific numeric targets
and on the overall numeric target. The results of the
sensitivity analysis can be used to demonstrate which
parameters need to be focused on when undertaking
site investigations.
Factors that are important and which could highly
influence the result of the assessment are:
• SAF – If the factor selected is not representative of the
site scenario then it may neglect to account for the
receptor’s background exposure from other non-site
sources and result in an artificially high RTC.
Therefore, the allowable site contaminant
concentration would be higher than otherwise
advisable
• TDI – If an unsuitable TDI is selected then the overall
integrated RTC may be calculated to be too high or
too low
• AMDI – If an artificially low AMDI is selected, then
the overall integrated RTC may be too high and not
effective in protecting the receptor.
Environment Agency Fact sheet for the SNIFFER framework 5
References and further information

[1] SNIFFER (2000). Framework for Deriving Numeric

Targets to Minimise the Adverse Human Health
Effects of Long-term Exposure to Contaminants in
Soil. Prepared by Land Quality Management Ltd.
and published by Foundation for Water Research
(FWR), Marlow.
[2] Defra and the Environment Agency (2002)
Contaminants in Soil: Collation of Toxicological Data
and Intake Values for Humans. Report CLR9.
Published by Defra and the Environment Agency.
Available from WRc, Frankland Road, Swindon
Wilts SN5 8YF. Also downloadable from the Defra
website – www.defra.gov.uk.
[3] Defra and the Environment Agency (2002)
Toxicological Reports for Individual Soil
Contaminants. Report TOX1-10. Published by
Defra and the Environment Agency. Available from
WRc, Frankland Road, Swindon Wilts SN5 8YF. Also
downloadable from the Defra website –
www.defra.gov.uk.
[4] SNIFFER (2000). Sensitivity analysis of SNIFFER
Framework for deriving numeric targets to minimise
the adverse human health effects of long term
exposure to contaminants in soil. Prepared by Land
Quality Management Ltd. and published by
Foundation for Water Research (FWR), Marlow.

Further information

Further details on the application of this model and

other risk assessment models can be obtained from the
Environment Agency, National Groundwater and
Contaminated Land Centre (NGWCLC), Olton Court,
10 Warwick Road, Olton, Solihull, B92 7HX
Tel: 0121 7084714 Fax: 0121 7084637.

Acknowledgements

The National Groundwater and Contaminated Land

Centre would like to acknowledge and thank those
individuals who reviewed and commented on drafts of
this fact sheet. These reviewers included the model
developer, SEPA, the Environment Agency and
environmental consultants.

ISBN 1844320995

Environment Agency Fact sheet for the SNIFFER framework 6