Hazardous waste cleanup program. Superfund

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Commonly known as Superfund, the program under this law is focused on the remediation of abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Since 1980, Superfund has assessed nearly 44,400 sites. To date, 33,100 sites have been removed from the Superfund inventory to aid their economic redevelopment, and 11,300 sites remain active with the site assessment program or are included in the National Priorities List (NPL) for the implementation of remedial actions. By September 2000, 1509 sites were included in the NPL with ongoing or completed cleanup activities. 

In 1987, hazardous heavy metal wastes were produced in California at an annual rate of 140,000 ton/yr.1 Through April, 1989 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had identified over 900 acutely dangerous hazardous waste disposal sites that required immediate cleanup through the Superfund program, and another 27,000 sites that may potentially qualify.2 Ultimately, the U.S. General Accounting Office believes that up to 425,000 waste sites will require cleanup in the next 50... 

The opposition to the use of incineration is described in detail in a prior NRC report (NRC, 2002). Reasons for it include the perceived instability of the process, the potential for explosion, and the potential for unplanned releases of undesirable compounds. This public opposition to incineration is also evident in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency s Superfund program for cleanup of hazardous waste sites, where both on-site and off-site incineration were selected less frequently as treatment technologies as the years passed (EPA, 2004). For example, on-site incineration was selected four, seven, six, and four times in 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990, respectively, for source control for remedial... 

CERCLA s purpose is to authorize the federal government to respond swiftly to hazardous substance emergencies and to protect public health and the environment by cleaning up the nation s worst hazardous waste sites (Reisch and Bearden, 1997). The law seeks to make those responsible for the improper disposal of hazardous waste bear the costs and accept responsibility for their actions with a retroactive liability regime, and established the Hazardous Substance Superfund Trust Fund to finance response actions where a liable party cannot be found or is incapable of paying cleanup costs. The Superfund program is the principal federal effort to clean up inactive hazardous waste sites. 

The chemical leaks at Love Canal near Niagara Falls, NY, gained a lot of national media attention. That led to a public outcry to clean up chemical waste sites, and the creation of the federal Superfund. A national cleanup program for hazardous waste sites resulted. 

The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) holds generators and disposers of hazardous waste liable for past practices, and established the "Superfund" of 1.6 billion to pay for cleanup operations at abandoned hazardous waste sites. It also mandated that the public be informed of these sites and the known hazards. Community right-to-know and CAER programs work with CERCLA to protect the community. 

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