Superfund Site Analysis

Prior to the late 1950s the site was used as an excavation pit for sand and gravel. The quarry was subsequently used for the disposal of waste materials from 1950 until 1966. 10 acres of the 28-acre site has been used as a disposal area for several hazardous waste contaminants that included volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, vinyl chloride and xylene; other organics such as phenols and PCBs as well as lead. The main area of contamination is in the southern half of the 10 acre area which encompasses about 6 acres which

Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) is located on Cape Cod. The JBCC is recognized as a Superfund site in 1989 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The base contaminated the groundwater in the surrounding towns. “Contaminated areas were the result of chemical/fuel spills, fire training activities, landfills, and drainage structures (cumulis.epa)”. The site is currently being cleaned up by the National Guard Bureau and the Department of the Air Force. The Air Force is cleaning one part of the base under Superfund. The Army is cleaning the other part under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA is overseeing that everything is being cleaned to their set standards. Currently the Air Force holds public meetings to explain the results and new

“Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation” By Dan Fagin explores the economics, scientific, political, and personal tragedy of how a chemical giant known as Ciba-Geigy and entrepreneurs failed to properly dispose the industrial waste which eventually contaminated the ground water of a coastal town. The book delves deeply into the history of the dye industry and the lesson learned from the environmental disaster. Fagin takes on complex issues to address the history of industrial processes in both Europe and the United States. He then explores further about the long struggle that parents and public officials took in Toms River, N.J., to scientifically identify the cancer cluster in children and then to determine the best way to handle the discovery.

The purpose of the landfill was to bury the large amount of contaminated the soil with toxic Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), a class of chemicals so toxic that Congress banned production later. The whole story began in 1973 when Ward PCB Transformers Company dumped more than 30,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated oil on the side of state roads in 14 North Carolina counties. The trucker, who was responsible for taking the oil to a facility to be recycled, disposed of it discreetly and illegally. The person in charge of the company and the trucker was sent to jail for a short time for their negligence on the matter. Contaminants left in the truck and factory was detoxified. However, the area around the factory as well as the lakes and rivers close to the road had been polluted. As a result, more than 60,000 tons of oils were polluted with toxic PCB.

The Fruit Avenue Plume (FAP) Superfund site (Site) is identified on the National Priorities List (NPL) as a chlorinated solvent groundwater plume, located in the downtown area of Albuquerque, New Mexico (Figure 1). The site originally consisted of a groundwater-contaminant plume, spanning multiple aquifer zones up to 544 feet deep; it was approximately 3,500 feet long and ranged in width from 550 to 1,300 feet.

A Superfund is a program that was created in 1980, that oversees the management and cleanup of abandoned Hazardous waste sites. Hazardous materials at the given locations consist of gases, explosives, flammable liquids, mineral deposits and numerous others but are not limited to only such hazardous wastes. Once an abandoned location is determined to contain forms of hazardous materials by individuals (citizens, state levels, or the Environmental Protection Agency) can locate the sites. The Environmental Protection Agency then can assign programs such as the Superfunds to the complicated process of cleaning up the waste materials. The EPA also determines the necessary funding and remedies required to obtain a reclaimed property of land for the

So often humans extract for resources like Lead, Aluminum, coal, marcellus shale, natural gas, or asbestos, and over time leave behind a environmental contaminated location. When nearby people start getting sick, showing up with health issues linked to the contamination in their environment, then the EPA usally gets involved. In a different light, the ecological effects from these sites can be things like habitat fragmentation, or in particularly vulnerable species, extinction. For example, in Wyoming, when the coal extraction began, a nearby lake is inevitably going to be contaminated with acid mine drainage. Say a specialists amphibian lived symbiotically with a moss or algae in the lake ecosystem, and without intervention the species dramatically suffer. Superfund sites are a popular topic sustainability and conservation biologists should use their popularity in the nation to aide in the local community remediation methods. For example, I am working to sample vegetation, water quality, fish biomass, and macro invertebrates biomass in local acid mine drainage remediation sites here in Indiana. This is a direct impact from human

The topic was based on " Toxic Passaic River to Get $1.38 Billion Cleanup Over 10 Years". Two weeks ago, Mach 4 2016 in Newark tons of garbage was seen along the Passaic River shore. A Environmental Protection Agency has broadcast a solution to this problem , which will dispose 3.5 million cubic yards of toxic sediment from the waterway. My overarching question : How can we protect the environment and at the same time improve people's standard of living? My guiding questions:Why are humans so careless of their environment?What are the sources and effects of water pollutants?

Superfund starts when the release of hazardous materials or a possible waste site is reported. The EPA then investigates the site and compiles a database of hazardous materials and their location. After cleanup is complete, the EPA continues to see to compliance monitoring of the site. The sites cleaned up by Superfund are ones outside of Federal control and are therefore the responsibility of the independent owners. The owners must pay for property cleanup, aftercare, and monitoring of the site. They are charged penalties or fines if they fail

In the year 2006 the United States Federal governments Environmental Protection agency decided to include Alternate Energy Resources Incs Augusta, Georgia location on its list of its Superfund Program National Priorities list. The company Alternate Energy Resource ran a facility where it stored and treated commercial hazardous waste from 1975 to 2000. According to the EPA, AER’s waste treatment processes included: blending high-BTU hazardous waste to be used as fuel in off-site industrial boilers and furnaces; recycling hazardous waste solvents by distillation; and treating used oils, hazardous and non-hazardous wastewater, and non-hazardous coolants. AER filed for bankruptcy on December 13, 2000. It seemed that the site was contaminating

Cleveland and other cities Factories dumped pollutants into the lake and the waterways and fertilizer and pesticides from agricultural runoff without much government oversight. Waste from city

When trying to look up the policy behind the superfund act it was all blocked, which I found extremely interesting. I was trying to get a better feeling of what exactly the policy cover from the original document. The article by Ariel Wittenburg looked into more defining what the Superfund was supposed to be doing. The she transited into how it has helped and what it covers. Finally she talks about the failures of the program that stem from policy. The most shocking part of the article had to deal with the difference is reductions; in 1991-1993 only had a 10% reduction compared to the 53% reduction rate in 2001 to 2003. It would be interesting to see how many of these sites should still be on the list when looking at concentrations of toxins in the environment. Also how the talked about the finances of this programs was eye opening. This is a major issue

The USEPA Toxic Inventory Sites list applies to industries that produce, store, process or import toxic chemicals above the established threshold. This list has been reviewed and indicated that the property was not on the list. A search was conducted on properties located within a mile radius and found one property located approximately ¾ of a mile from the site. NY Corp # 425873345 has been found on the list with discharge of Ammonia, in the approximate amount of 1000 pounds in 2005. This corporation represents a medium environmental risk to the site.

The state of New Jersey has over 20,000 contaminated sites that year after year are not touched do to government inertia and drawn out court battles with polluters. One of the most dangerous polluters to New Jersey soil is Radon which can enter the home through cracks in the foundation. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, resulting in the deaths of 15,000 to 20,000 people a year. The NJDEP can test your home for radon and any exposure can be mitigated. The job US fish and wildlife service is to prevent losses of fish and wildlife, or degradation of their habitats, from pollutant exposure; and evaluate and restore contaminated areas throughout New Jersey. What we do to the earth can have a damming effect if ignored on all forms of life from old ground containers to toxic rain seeping into our vegetation. The Federal Superfund program was launched more than 30 years ago to accelerate the cleanup of our worst toxic

Superfund sites are the federal government’s program aimed at making a cleanup of all the nation’s waste sites. These reasons are because of increased accumulation of hazardous wastes in the sites, where they are being dumped. Being the aim of the federal government to create a sustainable environment for not only the current