The EPA has tagged 10 new hazardous waste sites to be added to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. These hazardous waste sites have been selected based on risks to public health and environmental threats.
The 10 sites are as follows:
Dwyer Property Ground Water Plume, Elkton, MD
Washington County Lead District – Furnace Creek, Caledonia, MO
ACM Smelter and Refinery, Cascade County, MT.
Mansfield Trail Dump, Byram Township, NJ.
Dewey Loeffel Landfill, Nassau, NY
Wright Chemical Corporation, Riegelwood, NC
Milford Contaminated Aquifer, Milford, OH
Cabo Rojo Ground Water Contamination, Cabo Rojo, PR
Hormigas Ground Water Plume, Caguas, PR
West County Road 112 Ground Water, Midland, TX
There are currently 1,290 sites on the NPL, with 66 of them awaiting final agency action. Some of the harmful contaminants found at these sites include: asbestos, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, creosote, dichloroethene (DCE), dioxins, lead, mercury, pentachlorophenol (PCP), polynuclear aromatic hydrcarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethane (TCA), trichloroethene (TCE), and zinc.
The criterion for inclusion on the NPL varies, but some of the mechanics involved are as follows:
- Numeric ranking established by EPA’s Hazard Ranking System
- Designation by states or territories of one top-priority site
- Meeting all three of the following requirements:
o The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a health advisory that recommends removing people from the site;
o EPA determines the site poses a significant threat to public health; and
o EPA anticipates it will be more cost-effective to use its remedial authority than to use
its emergency removal authority to respond to the site.
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