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Superfund and National Priorities List

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Superfund and National Priorities List
Worksheet 5
Superfund
Superfund refers to a board formed under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) (Thomas& Robert 2003), it is United States of America federal law intended to clean up sites polluted with hazardous matters. Its main standard to meet is to ensure that, all potential or all already hazardous materials released to the environment are cleaned up. In attempt to meet its standards, Superfund formed the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and it offers wide federal power to clean up discharges or susceptible releases of hazardous substances that are likely to put in danger public health or the environment (Gillian 2004). Through the federal law, the body has sanctioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to categorize bodies accountable for contagion of sites and force them to clean up the sites. And in cases the body is not able to trace the parties then it take the responsibility itself to clean up the site using a special trust fund (Thomas& Robert 2003), .
According to Larry (2008), Superfund cleanup is an issue for which we should bend environmental regulations to achieve its goals since its programs are based on ‘‘The Hazard Ranking System’’ (HRS), which is an efficient system employed assess prospective virtual risks to public health and the surroundings from discharges or vulnerable discharges of hazardous wastes at unrestrained desecrate sites (Larry 2008). Also, addition of a site on the National Priorities List does not need particular property or resource to set off action to clean up the site, nor consign liability to any person. The National Priorities List serves principally informational function, informing the state and the community of those sites or discharges that seem to demand remedial actions (Gillian 2004).. Finally, its funding systems should make us believe it will achieve its goal, historically; it is estimated 70 % of Superfund



References: Gillian K. (2004) Leadville: the struggle to revive an American town. Washington: Island Press/Shearwater Books Larry G, J. (2008) Tar Creek: a history of the Quapaw Indians, the world 's largest lead and zinc discovery, and the Tar Creek Superfund site. Mustang, Okla : Tate Pub. & Enterprises Robert T, N. Thomas W C (2003): Taming regulation: superfund and the challenge of regulatory reform Washington, DC Brookings Inst. Press

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