£EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Emergency
and Remedial Response
Washington DC 20460
Spring 1986
WH/FS-86-003
The Superfund
Removal Program
Incidents involving hazardous materials that present an
imminent threat to human health or the environment may occur or
be discovered in any community at any time. These kinds of
incidents may include, but are not limited to:
• Illegal disposal of toxic materials or hazardous waste.
• Improper handling or disposal of hazardous materials at
landfills, industrial areas, etc.
• Spills of hazardous materials when a truck or train overturns.
• Discharges of hazardous materials into the air or water during
a fire.
The U.Se Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Emergency
Response Program was created to respond to situations such as
these.
How Can EPA
Respond to Releases
or Threatened
Releases of
Hazardous Substances
Under Superfund, EPA may respond to releases or threats of releases
of hazardous substances by starting a removal action. A removal
action is a short-term action intended to stabilize or clean up
an incident or site which poses a threat to human health or the
environment. These actions may include:
• removing and disposing of hazardous substances;
In 1980, Congress passed a law
called the 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 Super/und. The U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is responsible for
running the Superiund 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 Segal action to force
those responsible for hazardous
waste sites that threaten public
health or the environment to
clean up or pay for the cleanup
of 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 citi/ons understand how
the Superfund program works.
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• constructing a fence, posting warning signs, or taking other
security precautions necessary to control access of humans or
animals to a site;
• providing a temporary alternate water supply to local residents
when their drinking water supplies are contaminated;
• temporarily relocating area residents.
The 1980 CERCLA law currently limits removal actions to six .
months in duration and a total cost of $1 million, although
exemptions may be granted if work at a particular site cannot be
completed within the six month or $1 million limitations.
Because the purpose of a removal action is to respond to an
imminent threat and is a short-term action, long-terra environmental
problems like area-wide contamination of ground water cannot
generally be addressed. In that event, the On-Scene Coordinator
(OSC) will refer the site to EPA's Remedial Response Program for
further investigation and assessment.
Remedial actions are longer-term actions that stop or sub-
stantially reduce releases or threatened releases of hazardous
substances that are serious, but not inrnediately threatening.
Remedial actions are undertaken only at sites on EPA's National
Priorities List (NPL), which is EPA's list of hazardous waste *
sites chosen for possible long-term remedial actions under Super-
fund. EPA often conducts both removal and remedial actions at
NPL sites. Removal actions may be required during a remedial
action if an immediate threat is discovered during the course of
the remedial work.
How Does the The National Contingency Plan (NCP), the Federal regulation that
Removal Program guides the Superfund program, outlines the roles and responsi-
Wbrk? bilities of each agency involved in responding to releases of
hazardous substances. The U.S. Coast Guard has primary responsi-
bility for response to releases in or near the coastal areas of
the United States, and EPA has primary responsibility for response
inland.
The first step in EPA's renoval program is the discovery of
a release or threatened release of hazardous substances which
presents a threat to public health or the environment. EPA may
be notified through the National Response Center (NRC) at the
24-hour telephone number 1-800-424-8802, which is operated by the
U.S. Coast Guard, or contacted directly by industries or
individuals.
Coast Guard officials at the NRC notify the appropriate
government agencies and officials when a release occurs. An EPA
official, the OSC, evaluates the situation. Based upon this
evaluation, Superfund money may be used to clean up the incident if
those responsible for the incident cannot or will not conduct the
cleanup, or if State or local officials are unable to respond.
Other government agencies may be called upon for assistance when
necessary, depending upon the nature and extent of the release.
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Who Pays for Most removals are paid for or conducted by those responsible for
Removal Actions? creating an emergency or the release of hazardous substances.
Those responsible may include generators, transporters, or
disposers of hazardous waste. The rest may be paid for and
conducted by state or county response teams with their own funds,
or by EPA, using Superfund money. When Superfund money is used,
EPA may take action to compel those responsible to reimburse EPA
for the costs of the cleanup.
How Can You EPA makes every effort to ensure open, two-way communication with
Obtain Information the public. Because EPA is aware of the importance of keeping
On Removal Actions? the public informed of progress and developments at Superfund
sites, every EPA Office has a Community Relations Coordinator who
may be contacted for information on removal actions and public
outreach activities.
For further information on the Superfund Program,
call toll free 1-800-424-9346
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