United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Emergency
and Remedial Response
Washington DC 20460
Spring 1986
WH/FS-86-001
&EPA Superfund
Tn 1980, Congress passed a law called the
J-Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (CERCLA). CERCLA created a tax on
the chemical and petroleum industries.
The money collected from the tax goes to
a Trust Fund to clean up abandoned or
uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The
money has come to be called the
Superfund. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for
running the Superfund program.
Under the Superfund program, EPA can:
• Pay for the cleanup of hazardous waste
sites when those responsible for such sites
cannot be found or are unwilling or
unable to clean up a site.
• Take legal action to force those
responsible for hazardous waste sites that
threaten public health or the environment
to clean up those sites or reimburse EPA
for the costs of cleanup. '
The law authorizes two kinds of
response actions:
• Short-term removal actions where
immediate actions may be taken to
address releases or threats of releases
requiring expedited response.
• Longer-term remedial actions that stop
or substantially reduce releases or threats
of releases of hazardous substances that
are serious but not immediately
life-threatening.
Response actions may include, but are
not limited to:
• Removing hazardous materials from the
site to an EPA- approved, licensed
hazardous waste facility for treatment,
containment, or destruction.
• Containing the waste on-site so that it
can safely remain there and present no
further problem.
• Destroying or treating the waste on-site
through incineration or other innovative
technologies.
• Identifying and removing the source of
ground water contamination, and halting
further spread of the contaminants.
This fact sheet is one of a series
prepared by the Superfund Community
Relations Program to help citizens
understand how the Superfund program
works.
For further information on the Superfund Program,
call toll free 1-800-424-9346
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