mm
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Emergency
ana Remedial Response
5202-G
9360.0-30
EPA 540/F-94/041
August 1994
The Superfund
Emergency Response
Program I
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Recycled/Recyclable '.
Printed on paper that contains
at least 50% recycled fiber
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THE SUPERFUND EMERGENCY
RESPONSE PROGRAM
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One-fifth of the
U.S. population lives
within 3 miles of
a site where EPA has
removed immediate
threats to the public.
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How Does the Superfund Emergency
Response Program Eliminate Risk
to the Public?
The Superfund emergency response pro-
gram provides quick response to immediate
threats from hazardous substances,
wherever and whenever they occur.
The program's first priority is to
eliminate any danger to the public—
to make sites safe for those who live
or work nearby.
Since 1980, EPA has conducted
over 3,000 emergency response
actions at sites all across the country.
Emergency response actions are
quick, relatively low-cost activities
that address threats from hazardous
substances. The threats confronted by
the emergency response program vary
greatly in size, nature, and location,
but there is a common element in all
cases—time. Prompt action is crucial.
Typical situations requiring emer-
gency response actions include fires or
explosions, threats to people from exposure to a
hazardous substance, or contamination of a
drinking water supply. Regardless of the cir-
cumstances, each emergency response action
quickly prevents or eliminates the threats to the
public and the environment.
Emergency response
personnel prepare
empty drums
for disposal.
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COMMON CONTAMINANTS
AND THEIR COMMON SOURCES
Lead: paint pigments, glass manufacturing, smelting
(iron and steel production}
Mercury: batteries, thermometers, paints, pesticides
PCBs: electrical insulation
Chromium: copy machines, chrome plating, stainless
steel manufacturing
Trichloroethane & Trichloroethylene: dry-cleaning
agents, degreasers
Benzene: chemical manufacturing
Hazardous substances can irritate the skin or
eyes, make it difficult to breathe, or even poi-
son drinking water. Also, they can cause further
harm, such as cancer, birth defects, damage to
the brain or kidneys, and other medical prob-
lems. Environmental effects may include killing
all life in a lake or river, or destroying all wildlife
in the area.
One-fifth of all Americans, over 49 million
people, live within 3 miles of a site where EPA
has acted to remove immediate threats to
public health. Over 850,000 people live less
than 500 yards from an emergency response
action site. EPA emergency response actions have
eliminated risks to the health and safety of mil-
lions of people.
Between 1980 and 1990, the Superfitnd emer-
gency response prqgmm:
m provided almost 155,000 people, about the
population of a city the size of Hartford,
Connecticut, with a safe supply of drinking
water, using either bottled water or a hook-
up to a safe local water system.
s moved over 26,000 people, more than the
number of people who work in the Pentagon
—the world's largest office building—from
the vicinity of very dangerous sites and gave
them temporary housing. Most of these peo-
ple were able to return home as soon as EPA
made the site safe, but when necessary, the
emergency response program will perma-
nently relocate people.
a contained or treated massive amounts of
waste to make sites safe:
• over 7 million cubic yards of contami-
nated soil and debris, enough to cover
4,390 acres of land a foot deep;
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& 981 million gallons of contaminated
liquids, over 70 gallons for every person
in the State of Texas; and
m 288 million gallons of polluted water,
more than twice the daily water use in
the State of Vermont.
These accomplishments are at the heart of a
program with a solid record of success
in reducing and eliminating risks—pro-
viding prompt and effective emergency
response actions to keep the public and
the environment safe. Significant addi-
tional progress has been made in the
Superfend long-term clean-up program.
A Program of Action
EPA stands ready 24 hours a day to
respond quickly to protect the public
and the environment whenever a haz-
ardous substance is released.
Hazardous substances are all around
us—in active and abandoned disposal
sites, in trucks and trains, and in industrial
production and use. Hazardous substances are
found in paints, batteries, dry-cleaning agents, and
hundreds of other common industrial and con-
sumer products and processes. If any of these sub-
stances gets into the environment, it may contami-
nate our soils, lakes and nvers, the water we drink,
and the air we breathe.:
Soil samples are
collected for
analysis to deter-
mine the extent of
contamination.
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The need for an emergency
response action may arise any-
where, at any time. For example:
m workers may find leaking
drums at an abandoned in-
dustrial site;
IB neighbors of a landfill may
notice a foul taste or odor in
their drinking water;
a a transportation accident may
result in chemicals spilling;
a chemicals stored in a ware-
house may explode;
a stored tires may ignite, creat-
ing hazardous smoke and
liquid run-off; or
a passers-by may discover illegally dumped
chemicals in an abandoned lot.
EPA has the experience and ability to respond.
quickly to any of these situations, anywhere in
the United States. EPA has even conducted
warily while clqan-up activities
emergency response actions for problems
caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes,
earthquakes, and floods.
Of the more than 3,000 actions taken since the
emergency response program began in 1980,
EPA has conducted about 75 percent of these
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actions, and directed and moni-
tored those responsible for the
pollution as they conducted the
remaining 25 percent. Emergency
response actions undertaken and
financed by those responsible are
extremely important because they
represent actions where EPA will
not have to respond itself. Each
time the persons responsible for
the spill pay for an emergency re-
sponse action, Superfund money
is saved. This money can be used
to perform other emergency re-
sponse actions. In addition, EPA
lends technical support for emer-
gency response actions performed
by state and local responders and for responsible
parties who clean up voluntarily.
Emergency response actions do much more
than just remove hazardous substances from the
site and take them elsewhere for disposal. In a
growing number of situations, EPA treats conta-
minated water or soil rather than move it to
someone else's "backyard." Treatment processes
ON-SCENE COORDINATORS
The key player during an EPA emergency response action is the On-
Scene Coordinator (OSC). OSCs are highly skilled men and women who
conduct, direct, and coordinate emergency response actions—to take
whatever actions are necessary, consistent with federal law, to remove
the threat.
In every area of the country, OSCs are on-call and ready to respond to
a hazardous substance release 24 hours a day. When a release is dis-
covered or reported, the OSC evaluates the situation and, if the OSC
decides a federal emergency response action is necessary, he or she
works with state and local emergency response teams, local police and
firefighters, or other federal agencies to eliminate the danger. The OSC
also will ensure that the public and business community are kept
informed and that their concerns are considered throughout the emer-
gency response action.
used include traditional treatment methods such
as burning, but they also include new technolo-
gies that may be more effective. EPA's use of
new technologies is part of its continuing effort
to eliminate threats created by hazardous sub-
stances. For example, one technology—biore-
mediation—involves using bacteria to "eat," or
neutralize, the hazardous substances.
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SUPERFUND EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIONS 1980 -1992
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ISiPEppulatron affected is defined as the total population of all counties
«r&here emergency response Actions havejeen -
ected '
o < 500,000 .: "• :
500,000 < 2,000,000
2,000,000 < 5,000,000
1 0,000,000+ M
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Emergency response
workers sample
contents of an
abandoned drum.
Emergency Response Actions at
long-Term Clean-Up Sites
In addition to performing emergency response
actions at various types of sites, EPA conducts
contaminated hazardous waste sites. In these
cases it will take several years to fully study the
problem, develop the right remedy, and clean up
the hazardous waste. These are the sites most
long-term actions at hundreds of seriously people think of when they talk about the
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The Radium Chemical Company was located in a densely
populated urban area in Queens, New York, directly adjacent to
the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The facility had operated
since the 1930s and had leased and sold radium products that
were used in cancer therapy. Radium and its derivatives are
radioactive and extremely dangerous if handled improperly and
allowed to come into contact with unprotected persons. In the
early 1980s, New York State officials discovered that the plant's
radiation level, both inside and for several feet outside, was
dangerously high. To further complicate the situation, the building
had already been struck by traffic twice and had been a target of
vandals and a bomb threat.
In July 1988, EPA took over the management of site security,
keeping all unauthorized people away from the radioactive plant.
The Agency then installed monitoring equipment and implemented
an extensive community relations program. EPA officials examined
'; vtfijB.site and found thousands of potentially radioactive metal
'°f|ube's and cylinders containing radium stored in the plant. During
if'fhe emergency response, EPA decontaminated parts of the plant
as preparation for the long-term cleanup, which included dis-
t mantling the plant piece by piece and disposing of all plant
x materials in approved disposal facilities.
In late October 1983, vandals started a fire on a huge pile of tires
being stored for reprocessing. The tire pile, located in Winchester,
Virginia, covered about 5 acres of a ravine and contained between 5
and 7 million tires piled up to 80 feet high. Feeding on the massive
number of tires, the volcano-like fire sent up a hazardous smoke
plume several thousand feet that extended 50 miles into four states.
The smoke plume was not the only concern at the site — the intense
heat of the fire caused oil and liquid tar to run from the pile of burn-
ing tires off the site into a stream at a rate of 30 to 50 gajjo|.|ip|f;
minute, rapidly contaminating surrounding soil and
nearbycreek.
The fire, tar, and oil^osed s
and the environment.
to the public
kill fish and other
aquatic life, as well as ruin tr^dnnklflfw^tet'supply for livestock in
the area. Ash in the smoke plume threatened over 4,000 residents
within 5 miles of the site: The smoke itself was a serious health con-
cern for neighbors with .respiratory diseases. Finally, a nearby forest
could ignite if the fire.tem:airied unattended. Responders had to act to
control the furious blaze and stop the flow of oil and tar.
. EPA, the State of Virginia;1 arid counjyjagencies. responded to
the blaze. The EPA Environmenta[Respqfl^^am;pl-pvided tecnm
cal advice on air quality, cleanup of the^si|e>:and'ltreatmenlfo?pol-
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luted water. EPA directed the flow of oil and tar awayjrom the
creek by building walls and channels. The EPA Ort Scene
Coordinator directed the collection and subsequent sale of this oil
by EPA. The money was used to defray the costs'df -the cleanup" £
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In 1990, the CpkinentaJ Steel Quarry Site in Kokomo, Indiana, pre-
sented the Superfund emergency response program with a new chal-
lenge: conducting a large-scale underwater emergency response
action as the first initiative in the long-term cleanup of the site. The
EPA Environmental Response Team visually surveyed the quarry pond
with an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The ROV is
equipped with a tracking and detection system that assists in locating
underwater,objects \rj|feas^of limited visibility The survey team
found jhunoYeds of hazardous substance containers Samples of the
^dlll®^ hazardous substances
"wflichnad altered the pfi level No life remained in the por\d because
of the extremely toxic levels of chemicals Jhe quarry area was bor-
dered on three sides by residential property; Wildlife had been seen
traveling across the site and contammationwas seeping through the
pond bottom to underground water supplies
• • ^ * *
The EPA On-Scene Coordir\^^| tj^e objectives removing,the
containers without releasing ^re^b|th|^ibstan;ces into th|Vateh
removing the hazardous s'ubsJ||||faVeady in tjie^pond "ana dealing
with'the difficulties and safetyfffierns irTconductihg this emergency
• ; ••' * i?#V V *• "Sy,
response' action underwater ^mirimizejthe amount of naz^p,usv
substance.furthe^released m^tJTe"p1)nd,>esponders worked uficieV
' wfi|rf||i|GJrig the'containers in overpacks (larger containers)"
cations .were made and^specific safety procedures
r safety" To"Glean up the^pond, respon-
, , . i :». j,,' j'
it, andreturned it to the pond
Shortly after midnight on November 19,1991, a freight train derailed
on a bridge over the Salt River near the small town of Shepherdsville,
Kentucky. Two of the 28 derailed cars contained hazardous substances,
including MDI (a chemical used in manufacturing plastic) and POX (an
insect killer). A third car was loaded with U.S. Army cluster bombs.
When the EPA On-Scene Coordinator arrived, she was faced with:
• a,carfull of POX—ah extremely flammable material;
B a fire in one of the derailed cars next to the POX car
a a car full of cluster bombs and
• a car full of MDI dangling from the bridge trestle and leading
into ihe river
The situation was critical—the POX could explode, and the vapors^
from the leaking MDI could cause sfcin and eye irritation and at highv
temperatures, release ah extremely poisonous gas. The MDI leaking;
into the river could potentially poison the water and Killfjsh.,£ jg.
All permanent residents, workers, and-students';vj(ithirji^'i;§ij.^
i • 't-v'rifri -^ *•¥?' ^*vtf*-
resgontfers decided^.quickly that the major cpncerns|v
out th/fire arid prievehtihg'W e^plostonf A"ftentfie]|ip
guished^ further disa^r..^^..^^^^^^^).!!^
1 Respbnders al|o pulled thTr~"fii"" ^^^'™'*r™
the U S Army?moved'':
ihe
saroeime, S|as,
^Wriere the U S." Coast^uard'mbnitored for dead fish or other serious"
environmental damage. The MDI, which eventually became a solid
from exposure to the water, was captured as it floated down the
river, and no environmental harm was discovered in the area.
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SOURCES OF EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
Contaminated Air
Contaminated
Drinking Water
Fire or Explosion
Contaminate^
Ground Water
Contaminated
Surface Water,
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Superfund program. EPA does not ignore the
possibility, however, that serious immediate
threats to the environment or to the people who
live or work around the site may need to be dealt
with before the long-term action is complete, or
even under way.
Within 3 months of identifying one of these
long-term clean-up sites, EPA evaluates whether
there are any immediate threats. If so, an emer-
gency response action is taken. EPA then re-eval-
uates each of these long-term clean-up sites at
least once every other year until cleanup is com-
plete to make sure no new immediate threats
arise. In this review, EPA pays particular atten-
tion to sites that may be susceptible to damage
from events occurring at the site, such as harsh
weather conditions, facility deterioration, or
vandalism. If new immediate threats arise, an
emergency response action is taken.
A long-term clean-up site may ultimately
have several emergency response actions, or it
may have none. In some cases, emergency
response actions may eliminate the need for a
long-term cleanup at certain portions of the
site. As a result, emergency response actions
may speed the cleanup of portions of the site
and may lead to early elimination of the site
from EPA's long-term clean-up program.
•'EPA's. goal is to make the responsible parties clean up
: their own hazardous substances. However, in an emer-
gency situation, when those responsible cannot be
found, or when they will not cooperate, EPA responds
without delay. EPA gets the money to respond to haz-
ardous substance releases from the Superfund, which is
financed through taxes on petroleum and the production
I of a number of commercial chemicals.
''^Environmental Response Team
i
i
A vital force in EPA's battle to eliminate haz-
ardous substance threats is the Environmental
Response Team. (ERT). The ERT is a group of
EPA technical experts who provide around-the-
clock assistance at the scene of hazardous sub-
stance releases. Sometimes, when an EPA On-
Scene Coordinator or any other emergency respon-
der comes to the scene of a hazardous substance
release, he or she knows immediately that extra
technical help will be needed The ERT can provide
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A health and
safety instructor
demonstrates personal
protection equipment.
this expertise. For example, die ERT can provide
support in unusual or complex emergency re-
sponse actions, such as the cleanup of waste
containers underwater described in detail in die
centerfold of this brochure. In such an action,
Trainees respond to a
simulated transpor-
tation accident.
the ERT can bring in special equipment and
experienced responders. The ERT even has pro-
vided technical assistance for responses to haz-
ardous substance releases in other countries,
including Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Latvia,
and Mozambique.
Environmental Response
Team Training
Anodier key function of the ERT is emer-
gency responder training. Each year close to
6,000 students from federal agencies, state
and local emergency response teams, and
private industry enroll in EPA's Hazardous
Materials Incident Response Training pro-
gram. The courses offered cover safety in
handling hazardous substances, as well as
the technical operations used to identify,
evaluate, and control hazardous substances
that have been or could be released. They
emphasize the practical application of lec-
ture material through problem-solving, case
studies, and field exercises. These courses
are offered at different locations around
the country.
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iState and Local Community Involvement in
Emergency Response Actions
The first responders at the scene of an emer-
gency response action are usually firemen or state
or local police. They are the first to assess the situa-
tion and take emergency measures such as fighting
a fire, securing the area, or re-routing traffic. Their
assessment and initial activities help the EPA On-
Scene Coordinator determine what EPA actions
are necessary.
EPA supports direct state and local government
involvement in response efforts through financial
and technical support, as well as numerous train-
ing opportunities. Hundreds of local responders
attend ERT training courses each year. This assis-
tance enhances the abilities of local governments
to successfully undertake short-term actions to
reduce or eliminate risks to public health and to
protect the environment.
Local Government Reimbursement
EPA helps local governments pay for emer-
gency actions they take in response to hazardous
substance spills. Usually, these actions are beyond
what the community normally provides in terms
of emergency response. To date, approximately
A local response
team takes emer-
gency measures to
control a spill.
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Local responders
arrive on the scene
of an emergency
response action.
money from this program. Reim-
bursable activities may range from fire
or explosion control to putting up a
security fence around a site to keep
people away. The local government
must initially attempt to recover the
cost of the activity from the party re-
sponsible for the hazardous substance
spill. If this fails, the local government
may collect from EPA up to $25,000
for each action. With the money it has
available, EPA tries to reimburse first
those local governments that can least
afford the expense of the emergency
actions taken.
$500,000 has been given to local governments
through this program. Any city, county, munici-
pal government, or Indian tribe may apply for
EPA recognizes that involvement
of the public in all types of Superfund
projects is an important ingredient
for success. Good communication
and community involvement may help
to avoid misunderstandings and confusion
between government officials and local citizens
during an emergency response action. An offi-
12
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cial EPA spokesperson is appointed for each establishes a written record that contains informa-
emergency response action to keep the public in- tion about the emergency response action and
formed and to respond to any questions. EPA also makes this record available to the public.
The Superfund emergency response program goes to great lengths to assure effective community relations. In the
emergency response action at the White Chemical Company site in Newark, New Jersey, a unique communication
system was installed in the community to reduce the risk of exposure in the event of another emergency at the site
during cleanup. Federal, state, and local
emergency response personnel developed
a telephone notification system (the
Community Alert Network), which con-
tained the phone numbers of all area
businesses, residents, schools, day care
centers, hospitals, and emergency response
personnel. The system was designed
specifically for residents, businesses, and
other facilities near the site. Although it
never became necessary to activate the
system, if a hazardous substance had been released, the system would have automatically sent information and
messages, in both English and Spanish, to the entire community.
EPA meets with
local officials to
discuss the
emergency
response action
at the White
Chemical
Company site in
Newark, NJ.
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EPA's Superfund emergency response pro-
gram has for over a decade acted quickly
and decisively to protect the public and
the environment from immediate threats. The broad
range of emergencies to which EPA must respond will
never be completely eliminated. Thus, the Agency stands
ready to use its emergency response authorities to their
fullest extent, today and in the future, to continue to
eliminate risks to human health and the environment.
For more information and additional copies:
Superfund Hotline
(800)424-9346
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For reporting of oil and hazardous material spills:
The National Response Center
(800)424-8802
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