Operation of the Superfund Program

Operation of the Superfund Program
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials
Publisher:
Total Pages: 184
Release: 1997
Genre: Law
ISBN:

Investigative Strategies for Lead-Source Attribution at Superfund Sites Associated with Mining Activities

Investigative Strategies for Lead-Source Attribution at Superfund Sites Associated with Mining Activities
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2017-12-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309465567

The Superfund program of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in the 1980s to address human-health and environmental risks posed by abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous-waste sites. Identification of Superfund sites and their remediation is an expensive multistep process. As part of this process, EPA attempts to identify parties that are responsible for the contamination and thus financially responsible for remediation. Identification of potentially responsible parties is complicated because Superfund sites can have a long history of use and involve contaminants that can have many sources. Such is often the case for mining sites that involve metal contamination; metals occur naturally in the environment, they can be contaminants in the wastes generated at or released from the sites, and they can be used in consumer products, which can degrade and release the metals back to the environment. This report examines the extent to which various sources contribute to environmental lead contamination at Superfund sites that are near lead-mining areas and focuses on sources that contribute to lead contamination at sites near the Southeast Missouri Lead Mining District. It recommends potential improvements in approaches used for assessing sources of lead contamination at or near Superfund sites.

EPA Strategic Plan

EPA Strategic Plan
Author: United States. Environmental Protection Agency
Publisher: Agency
Total Pages: 112
Release: 1997
Genre: Medical
ISBN:

Calculating Risks?

Calculating Risks?
Author: James Hamilton
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 358
Release: 1999
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780262082785

"By matching agency decision data to detailed census information using geographic information systems (GIS) technology, the authors show that most hazardous waste sites do not pose sufficient risk to merit the most stringent cleanup options. Those sites that do pose considerable risk to exposed populations often receive inadequate attention, because government decisions to target cleanups are based more on political factors than on actual risks. The authors propose policy reforms that could significantly reduce cleanup costs without sacrificing the protection of human health."--BOOK JACKET.

Sediment Dredging at Superfund Megasites

Sediment Dredging at Superfund Megasites
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2007-10-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309134102

Some of the nation's estuaries, lakes and other water bodies contain contaminated sediments that can adversely affect fish and wildlife and may then find their way into people's diets. Dredging is one of the few options available for attempting to clean up contaminated sediments, but it can uncover and re-suspend buried contaminants, creating additional exposures for wildlife and people. At the request of Congress, EPA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to evaluate dredging as a cleanup technique. The book finds that, based on a review of available evidence, dredging's ability to decrease environmental and health risks is still an open question. Analysis of pre-dredging and post-dredging at about 20 sites found a wide range of outcomes in terms of surface sediment concentrations of contaminants: some sites showed increases, some no change, and some decreases in concentrations. Evaluating the potential long-term benefits of dredging will require that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency step up monitoring activities before, during and after individual cleanups to determine whether it is working there and what combinations of techniques are most effective.

Standing Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Chemicals

Standing Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Chemicals
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2001-06-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 030907553X

Standing Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Chemicals contains a detailed and comprehensive methodology for developing acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for toxic substances from inhalation exposures. The book provides guidance on what documents and databases to use, toxicity endpoints that need to be evaluated, dosimetry corrections from animal to human exposures, selection of appropriate uncertainty factors to address the variability between animals and humans and within the human population, selection of modifying factors to address data deficiencies, time scaling, and quantitative cancer risk assessment. It also contains an example of a summary of a technical support document and an example of AEGL derivation. This book will be useful to persons in the derivation of levels from other exposure routesâ€"both oral and dermalâ€"as well as risk assessors in the government, academe, and private industry.