Mini Project # 5: Pollution in Your Neighborhood

Superfund is the name given to the environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. It is also the name of the fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. This law was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Times Beach in the 1970s. It allows the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to clean up such sites and to compel responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups.

The Superfund cleanup process is complex. It involves the steps taken to assess sites, place them on the National Priorities List, and establish and implement appropriate cleanup plans. This is the long-term cleanup process. In addition, the Agency has the authority to:

• Conduct removal actions where immediate action needs to be taken;
• To enforce against potentially responsible parties;
• To ensure community involvement;
• Involve states;
• Ensure long-term protectiveness.

The blueprint for these activities is the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Consistency Plan (NCP), a regulation applicable to all federal agencies involved in responding to hazardous substance releases. Over the past 20+ years, they have located and analyzed tens of thousands of hazardous waste sites, protected people and the environment from contamination at the worst sites, and involved others in cleanup.

The Superfund site closest to my house is called Davie Landfill and it is located on SW 142nd AVE in Davie, FL. According to the Superfund website "under current conditions at this site, potential or actual human exposures are under control". This means that the site has been cleaned and is not a risk to humans or wildlife. Many other Superfund sites are listed on the website that are near my home and it is disturbing to know that these sites are highly contaminated and pose a threat to humans and wildlife.

To find out what Superfund sites are near your home visit: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm

Sources

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm