Workers in hazmat suits check the status of a cleanup site

Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental policy officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9601–9675), which was enacted by the United States Congress on December 11, 1980 in response to the Love Canal disaster. A hazmat suit is a garment worn as protection from '''haz'''ardous '''mat'''erials or substances The Environmental policy of the United States is federal governmental action to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States Title 42 of the United States Code is the title of the United States Code dealing with Public health and Social welfare The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Events 359 - Honoratus, the first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople, takes office Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Love Canal is a Neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, United States of America (USA which became the subject of national and international ^[1] The Superfund law was created to protect people, families, communities and others from heavily contaminated toxic waste sites that have been abandoned. Toxic waste is waste material often in chemical form that can cause death or injury to living creatures ^[2]

After its initial passage, the Reagan administration appointed Rita Lavelle, a former hazardous waste-producing company employee, as Superfund's administrator. The United States Presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan Administration, was a Republican administration headed by Rita M Lavelle is a United States and California State Republican political figure Due to delays introduced by her industry-favorable policies, and a dramatic shortage of necessary funds, very little was accomplished in hazardous waste regulation until her resignation, the resignation of EPA administrator Anne Burford, and the passage of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act in 1986. Anne M Burford ( April 21 1942 – July 18 2004) was the first female Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency These amendments increased the funding of Superfund to $9 billion and provided for studies and the use of new technologies.

Superfund provides broad federal authority to clean up releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society organisations See also Nature The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a terminology that is comprised of all living and There are currently 1,240 sites listed on the Superfund National Priority List, an additional 317 have been delisted, and 61 new sites have been proposed. ^[3]

Approximately 70% of Superfund cleanup activities historically have been paid for by parties responsible (PRPs) for the cleanup of contamination. The only time cleanup costs are not borne by the responsible party is when that party either can not be found or is unable to pay for the cleanup. For those sites, the Superfund law originally paid for toxic waste cleanups through a tax on petroleum and chemical industries. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals The chemical and petroleum fees were intended to provide incentives to use less toxic substances. Over five years, $1. 6 billion was collected, and the tax went to a trust fund for cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. In Common law legal systems a trust is an arrangement whereby Property (including real tangible and intangible is managed by one person (or persons or organizations The last full fiscal year in which the Department of the Treasury collected the tax was FY1995. At the end of FY1996, the invested trust fund balance was $6. 0 billion. This fund was exhausted by the end of FY2003; since that time funding for these orphan shares has been appropriated by Congress out of general revenues. ^[4]

Provisions

CERCLA established sites, and:

• persons are liable for their releases of hazardous waste at these sites; and
• established a trust fund to provide for cleanup when no responsible party could be identified.

CERCLA authorizes two kinds of response actions:

• Removal actions. These are typically short-term response actions, where actions may be taken to address releases or threatened releases requiring prompt response. Removal actions are classified as: (1) emergency; (2) time-critical; and (3) non-time critical. Removal responses are generally used to address localized risks such as abandoned drums containing hazardous substances, contaminated surface soils posing acute risks to human health or the environment, etc. The regulations for removal actions can be found at 40 C.F.R. 300.415. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the
• Remedial actions. These are usually more long-term response actions than a removal action. Remedial actions permanently and significantly reduce the risks associated with releases or threats of releases of hazardous substances that are serious but lack the time-criticality of a removal action, and include such measures as preventing the migration of pollutants and neutralization of toxic substances. These actions can be conducted only at sites listed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priorities List (NPL), in the United States and territories. The National Priorities List ("NPL" is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal The regulations for remedial actions can be found at 40 C.F.R. 300.430. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the

Under CERCLA, four classes of parties, termed "potential responsible parties," may be liable for contamination at a Superfund site:

• the current owner or operator of the site (CERCLA section 107(a) (1));
• the owner or operator of a site at the time that disposal of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant occurred (CERCLA section 107(a) (2);
• a person who arranged for the disposal of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant at a site (CERCLA section 107(a) (3)); and
• a person who transported a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant to a site; that transporter must have also selected that site for the disposal of the hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants (CERCLA section 107(a) (4)). See 42 U.S.C. § 9607

CERCLA also enabled the revision of the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) found at 40 C. Title 42 of the United States Code is the title of the United States Code dealing with Public health and Social welfare The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, more commonly called the National Contingency Plan or NCP is the United States federal government's blueprint for F. R Part 300. The NCP provided the guidelines and procedures needed to respond to releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. The NCP also established the National Priorities List. The National Priorities List ("NPL" is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal The NPL, which appears as Appendix B to the NCP, primarily serves as an information and management tool for EPA, and helps the Agency prioritize sites for cleanup. The NPL is updated periodically. The identification of a site for the NPL is intended primarily to guide EPA in:

• determining which sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and extent of the human health and environmental risks associated with a site;
• identifying what CERCLA-financed remedial actions may be appropriate;
• notifying the public of sites EPA believes warrant further investigation; and
• serving notice to potentially responsible parties that EPA may initiate CERCLA-financed remedial action.

Inclusion of a site on the NPL does not in itself require potentially liable parties to initiate action to clean up the site, nor does it assign liability to any person. The NPL serves primarily informational purposes, identifying for the States and the public those sites or other releases that appear to warrant remedial actions.

Despite its name, the 'Superfund' lacks the sufficient funds to clean up even a small number of the sites on the NPL. As a result, the government will typically order "potentially responsible parties" to clean up the site themselves under Section 106 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9606. Title 42 of the United States Code is the title of the United States Code dealing with Public health and Social welfare If a party fails to comply with such an order, it may be fined up to $25,000 for each day that noncompliance continues. A party that spends money to clean up a site may sue any "potentially responsible parties" (commonly called "PRPs") under CERCLA. A related provision allows a party that has reimbursed another party's response costs to seek contribution from other PRPs, during or after the original lawsuit.

Procedures

Upon notification of a potentially hazardous waste site, the EPA conducts a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI) which involve records reviews, interviews, visual inspections, and limited field sampling. ^[5] Information from the PA/SI is used by EPA to develop a Hazard Ranking System (HRS) score to determine the CERCLA status of the site. ^[6] Sites that score high enough to qualify for the full program then proceed to a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS). The RI includes an extensive sampling program and risk assessment in order to define the extent of the site contamination and risks. The FS is used to develop and evaluate various remediation alternatives. The preferred alternative is presented in a Proposed Plan for public review and comment. The selected alternative is signed off in a Record of Decision (ROD). The site then enters into a Remedial Design phase and then the Remedial Action phase. Many sites include Long-Term Monitoring and 5-year reviews once the Remedial Action has been completed.

Reform

Due to its cost and ineffectiveness, several attempts have been made to reform the Superfund legislation. In 1986, such an attempt was successful, resulting in the 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, which increased Superfund appropriations and provided for studies and new technologies to be used. In 1994, the Clinton administration proposed a new Superfund reform bill, which was seen as an improvement to existing legislation by both environmentalists and industry lobbyists. The United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the Federal The effort was blocked, however, by Republican opponents who some saw as wanting to deny Clinton a legislative victory. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States ^[7]

References

1. CERCLA/Superfund Orientation Manual

See also

• List of Superfund sites in the United States
• Hazardous waste
• Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

External links

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• EPA.gov's Superfund site
• National Priorities List of Hazardous Substances
• Superfund Overview
• Superfund sites by state
• CERCLA statute (From Cornell Legal Information Institute)
• University of Cincinnati Superfund Basic Research Program
• Superfund365