United States Environmental Protection Agency OSWER/OSRTI Site Assessment and Remedy Decisions Branch Washington, DC 20460 IMPIJ The National Priorities List (NPL) is a list of national priorities among the known or threatened releases of hazardous substances throughout the United States. The list serves as an information and management too! for the Superfund cleanup process as required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).The NPL is intended primarily to guide EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with a release of hazardous substances. There are three ways a site is eligible for the NPL; 1. Scores at least 28.50: A site may be included on the NPL if it scores sufficiently high on the Hazard Ranking System (HRS), which EPA published as Appendix A of the National Contingency Plan. The HRS is a mathematical formula that serves as a screening device to evaluate a site's relative threat to human health or the environment. As a matter of Agency policy, those sites that score 28,50 or greater on the HRS are eligible for inclusion on the NPL. This is the most common way a site becomes eligible for the NPL. 2, State Pick; Each stale and territory may designate one top-priority site regardless of score. 3. ATSDR Advisory: Certain other sites may be listed regardless of their HRS score, if all of the following conditions are met: a. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued a health advisory that recommends removing people from the site; b. EPA determines that the release poses a significant threat to public health; and c. EPA anticipates it will be more cost-effective to use its remedial authority than to use its emergency removal authority to respond to the site. Sites are first proposed to the NPL in the Federal Register. EPA then accepts public comments for 60 days about listing the sites, responds to the comments, and places those sites on the NPL that continue to meet the requirements for listing. To submit comments, visit www.reguiaiions.gov. Placing a site on the NPL does not assign liability 10 any party or to the owner of any specific property: nor does it mean that any remedial or removal action will necessarily be taken. For more information, please visit ------- |