Superfund sites Essay Example for Free

Superfund sites Essay Superfund sites are defined as any land in the U. S that has been polluted by hazardous wastes and requires cleanup process as it poses as risk to human health and the environment, (Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), 2007). One of the sites in the state of Texas (Superfund Information Systems, 2007), is the â€Å"BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL† (EPA ID: TXD980864649). National Priorities Listing (NPL) had got the site listed on 5th October 1984. According to BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS(2008), the site has a population of 7,600 people which is within 3 miles. The site is a marshy area near the Neches River and the Sabine Lake, occupying 10 acres. Some of the main contaminants in the area are benzene, metals, phenols, chlorinated hydrocarbons in soil, arsenic compounds, naphthalenes and pyridines. The waste volume is about 156,000 cubic yards. The contaminated media was sediments and solid waste. If the site is not suited for human exposure then a study is undertaken to check for contamination and the posing risk to human health. Some of the risks posed by these contaminants are as follows, direct contact (causes cancer), surface contact (marsh have been effected) and ground water (contains organic compounds and metals). The remedy was put into place in June 1998 which consisted of consolidation of sediments that were affected from marsh, drains, channels and drum disposals. The next step involved stabilization of waste and construction of to cover the stabilized waste. Some of the other remedial activities undertaken were evaluation of soil and waste, relocation and consolidation of shallow wastes, clay dike construction, construction of roads, closing of piezometers wells and wastewater treatment plant constructions that includes decontamination of water active area storm waters and dewatering operations from ground water. There is also a constant monitoring of air to check if action levels are not exceeded on the site. Some of the activities that were achieved during 8th February 2006 and 1st May 2006 are excavations of affected and waste sediments which were transported or relocated to industrial landfills for disposal and solidification, verification of waste and sediments. This process also included placement of soil cover. The deletion process has been successfully done on the 15 October 2007. The non-residential land included 10 acres. The major milestones of the site are present status of the site are Final Assessment Decision was taken on the 15 October 1984. This is followed by the Final remedial action on the 16th December 1996. The human exposure control is underway presently. The contamination groundwater migration under control report says that this site is not a ground water site and finally the construction has been declared complete as of 14 September 1998. After the complete remedial process some of these sites may or may not be used for recreational purposes. These sites then come under non-residential use, residential use or land reuse. Once the complete risk analysis is done the EPA takes the action of controlling any human exposure until the cleanup process is done. At the BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS, site as of now has human health and environment protections and safety under control and there is no potential risk to human health or the environment. References U. S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2007). Superfund. What is a Superfund site?. Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://epa. custhelp. com/cgi-bin/epa. cfg/php/enduser/std_adp. php? p_faqid=172p_created=1065036363p_sid=OMReyNZip_accessibility=0p_redirect=p_lva=p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0xMDUmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xp_li=p_topview=1 Superfund Information Systems (2007). Superfund Site Progress Profile BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (EPA ID: TXD980864649). Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://cfpub. epa. gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo. cfm? id=0602911 BAILEY WASTE DISPOSAL (ORANGE COUNTY) TEXAS (2008). EPA ID# TXD980864649. Site ID: 0602911 Bridge City. EPA REGION 6. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 02. Retrieved on 22 February 2008 from http://www. epa. gov/earth1r6/6sf/pdffiles/0602911. pdf