The U.S. EPA announced last week that 50 of the nation’s most polluted hazardous waste sites will get some much needed cleanup assistance with $600 million in funds allocated from the Recovery Act. The Superfund sites were contaminated years ago by mining waste, lead smelters, landfills and other chemical sources, leading to the contamination of ground water, soil, air and sediment. Common contaminants found at Superfund sites include asbestos , lead, mercury, arsenic and benzene, among others.  The sites were chosen for cleanup based on a variety of factors, including their construction readiness, risk to human health and the environment and environmental justice concerns and benefits. Acid mine drainage from old mine sites can be hazardous to human and environmental health. Photo: aegweb.org In addition to cleaning up toxic sites, the program will also create jobs around the sites, giving a boost to local economies. “Under the Recovery Act, we’re getting harmful pollutants and dangerous chemicals out of these communities and putting jobs and investment back in,”

says EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. The federal Superfund program was created in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites that pose threats to the environment and human health. Since its creation, 1,060 of the 1,596 sites on the National Priorities List have been cleaned up. The current allocation of funding will be used for sites in 28 states . Due to budget cuts in recent years, many Superfund site cleanups have been delayed or unfunded. President Barack Obama called for $1 billion to be put into the Superfund program by reinstating the excise tax on hazardous chemicals and petroleum products beginning in 2011. The excise tax was not renewed by Congress in 1995, decreasing the amounts available for Superfund cleanup. The EPA anticipates a number of benefits will come from the Recovery Act funds, including acceleration of existing projects, investment in new projects, potential acceleration of green remediation technology and job creation.

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Recovery Act Provides Cleanup Assistance for Superfund Sites