The Superfund program makes
a visible and lasting difference in communities cleaning up the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites, tackling threats to public health and our natural environment
, supporting local economies and enhancing quality of life, preventing future releases of hazardous substances, and leading to …
What are the goals of Superfund?
Superfund’s goals are to:
Protect human health and the environment by cleaning up contaminated sites
; Make responsible parties pay for cleanup work; Involve communities in the Superfund process; and.
Is CERCLA successful?
Over the past three decades, CERCLA
has successfully cleaned and restored close to 400 contaminated sites
once listed on its national priorities list (NPL), including the infamous Love Canal site. … Yet, the complete statistical picture of Superfund’s history paints a more complex image of the law’s success.
What are the effects of Superfund sites?
In addition to
increased levels of childhood cancer and birth defects
, exposure to hazardous substances released from Superfund sites has been correlated with higher rates of suspension from school and repeating grade levels, lower standardized test scores, and decreased cognitive functioning.
What are the weaknesses of the Superfund program?
- No one accounts for the environmental effects of the toxic trail that follows cleanup. …
- EPA cleanup goals are in many cases unrealistic. …
- The technology being used to clean up about one-third of Superfund sites won’t work in the long run.
What is wrong Superfund?
The strongest complaints about Superfund have been that few sites have
been cleaned up
, too much is spent on lawyers and administrative costs, and cleanups are too costly. These are legitimate complaints, but problems of this sort with government programs are not unusual.
Why is it called a Superfund site?
Superfund sites are
polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations
. They were designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980.
Why is the Superfund important?
The Superfund program makes
a visible and lasting difference in communities cleaning up the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites
, tackling threats to public health and our natural environment, supporting local economies and enhancing quality of life, preventing future releases of hazardous substances, and leading to …
What are the responsibilities of EPA’s Superfund program?
EPA’s Superfund program is responsible
for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters
.
Why is Superfund needed?
The Surgeon General of the United States considers
toxic chemicals to pose the major threat to health
in the United States for the decade of the 1980s. … Chemical spills capable of inflicting environmental harm occur about 3,500 times each year, and an estimated $65 million to $260 million is needed to clean them up.
Who is liable under CERCLA?
CERCLA imposes liability for clean-up costs and other response and/ or
remediation costs upon owners or operators of facilities and sites from which a release of hazardous substances has occurred
. All of these terms are defined in CERCLA.
How has CERCLA helped?
CERCLA forces
responsible parties to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous waste
. It also holds corporate successors responsible, even if their predecessor was responsible for the contamination. CERLA also established a trust fund to pay cleanup costs when no responsible party can be found.
What is CERCLA and how does it impact the safety profession?
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act — otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund —
provides a Federal “Superfund” to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment
…
Is it safe to live near a Superfund site?
Children that live near superfund sites are more prone to childhood cancer as well as birth defects, decreased cognitive functioning, and various behavioral problems. … Data, which looked at thousands of people in the Texas area, showed that living near
a superfund site can lower life expectancy by at least
.
Are Superfund sites safe?
Are all Superfund sites dangerous?
Yes
, and no. The EPA deems many areas as “safe” after cleanup goals are met, such as removing all contaminated earth or pollutants. The EPA’s risk assessment guide says that many areas that have been cleaned up pose “little” risk.
What is the largest Superfund site in the US?
The 586 square mile Hanford Site
is home to one of the largest Superfund cleanups in the nation.
