+
Introduction to Superfund
UNC Superfund Research Program
Sarah Yelton, M.S.
Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
+
Central Questions

What is a hazardous waste site?

What is a Superfund Site?

How can you identify these sites in your community?

How is hazardous waste cleaned up?

How can you incorporate Superfund topics into your
classroom?
+
According to the EPA…
 One
in four Americans lives within 4 miles of a
hazardous waste site, yet many US citizens are
unaware of these sites and their implications for
human health.
 To
search for EPA clean-up sites in your
community: http://www.epa.gov/cimc
+
Cleanups in My Community
a mapping and listing tool that shows where
pollution is being or has been cleaned up under
EPA's Superfund, RCRA and/or Brownfields cleanup
programs.
+
What is Superfund?

Also known as the Comprehensive
Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act
(CERCLA).

Established by Congress in 1980 to
clean up the country’s worst
hazardous waste sites;

Locates, investigates, cleans up and
monitors hazardous waste sites
throughout the US;

Works with communities to return
hazardous waste sites to safe and
productive sites;

Administered through the
Environmental Protection Agency in
cooperation with state and tribal
governments.
Source: EPA, http://www.epa.gov/superfund/index.htm
+
What is a Superfund Site?
 “A
Superfund site is any land in the United
States that has been contaminated by
hazardous waste and identified by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as
a candidate for cleanup because it
poses a risk to human health and/or the
environment.”
- US Environmental Protection Agency
+
The ATSDR 2013
Substance Priority List

ARSENIC

LEAD

MERCURY

VINYL CHLORIDE

POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS

BENZENE

CADMIUM

BENZO(A)PYRENE

POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
These substances are most
commonly found at facilities
on the National Priorities
List (NPL) and are
determined to pose the most
significant potential threat to
human health due to their
known or suspected toxicity
and potential for human
exposure at these NPL sites.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/SPL/index.html
+
Toxic Chemicals Can:
 Interact
with macromolecules within the body
 Impair
or inhibit metabolic processes
 Induce
mutations in DNA (mutagenic)
 May
increase the risk of cancer by altering
cellular metabolism or damaging DNA directly
(carcinogenic)
 Impair
reproduction
 Induce
birth defects (teratogenic)
+
How do we measure contaminants?
 The
concentration of a contaminant in water or soil
is often reported in parts or million (ppm) or parts
per billion (ppb).
 Toxic
chemicals present in even ppm or ppb
amounts can be harmful to human health.
+
Bioaccumulation vs Biomagnification
 Bioaccumulation
 Concentration
of a pollutant within an organism
 Body Burden refers to the amount of pollution present in
an organism
 Pollution of the human body begins before birth
 Biomagnification
 Concentration
of a pollutant within a food chain
 PCBs, DDT, Mercury, Arsenic, Dioxin
+
http://www.seathos.org/what-is-bio-magnification/
+
National Priority List (NPL)
Superfund Sites
 Site
Status as of July 22, 2014
 51
sites proposed for the NPL
 1319 NPL sites
 1158 NPL sites with physical cleanup construction
completed
 382 deleted sites
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/query/queryhtm/npltotal.htm
North Carolina
National Priority List of Superfund sites (July 2014)
42 sites: 39 final; 3 deleted
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/where.htm
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/status.htm
+
Hazardous Waste:
How do we Clean it Up?
“Dredging of Pollutants Begins in Hudson”
New York Times, May 15, 2009
+
Superfund Clean Up Timeline

Discovery of Contaminated Site

Preliminary Assessment/Inspection

NPL Site Listing Process

Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study

Records of Decision

Remedial Design & Action

Construction Completion

NPL Deletion

Site Reuse/Redevelopment
=Clean-Up
+
Remediation of contaminated soil
 Remediation
 Use a detergent to clean
contaminated soil
 Thermal desorption
 Isolate contaminated area
 Concrete dikes
 Cap with impervious
layers of plastic/clay
 Bioremediation
 Allow natural processes to
breakdown contaminant
 Biostimulation
+
Soil Remediation Challenges

Underground

Ground water moves
1 meter/yr

Many complex
interactions with soil
constituents

Expensive!
www.epa.gov/.../sites/PAD003058047/photos.htm
+
Remediation of contaminated water
Surface Water





Prevent spreading
Skim contaminant from surface
Mix and aerate to promote natural
clean up
Clean up contaminated sediments
 Dredge
 Place a cover over them
 Allow natural processes to
break them down
Allow natural processes to
breakdown contaminant
+
Remediation of contaminated water
Groundwater



Pump and treat and return
to ground
Containment
Allow natural processes to
breakdown contaminant
+
Who pays for Superfund cleanup?

Until 1995, funded by a tax on petroleum and chemical
industries

$1.6 billion was collected and the tax went to a trust fund for
cleaning up abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

Trust fund was exhausted by the end of FY 2003

Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) are first in line, if they
can be identified

If no PRPs identified, funds can be appropriated by Congress
out of general revenues
+
Superfund in the Classroom
“Students read background
information about Superfund; discuss
relevant Superfund sites in NC.”

Stacy Rinehart, 7th grade science, Wake
County Schools
“Working in groups, students research
different Superfund sites in NC.
Students use worksheets to simplify
the technical information.”

John Cardarelli, 6th grade science,
Winston Salem Schools
+
Investigating a Superfund Site of Interest
Superfund Sites, EPA Region 4
http://www.epa.gov/region04
/superfund/sites/sites.html
+Investigating a Superfund Site of Interest
+
+
Superfund in the Classroom

How might you use this website inquiry with students?

How might you incorporate this site into your class (e.g.,
guest speaker, etc.)?

How have you covered Superfund and/or hazardous waste
topics with your class in the past?
+
UNC Superfund
Research Program
Advances the scientific knowledge required to
understand and reduce risks to human health
associated with several of the highest priority
chemicals regulated under the Superfund program,
namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
and chlorinated hydrocarbons (TCE and PCB).
+
UNC Superfund Research Program
Faculty Research Projects:
 Biomedical



Toxicity caused by Oxidative Stress (e.g., DNA Damage)
Toxicity of Trichloroethylene (TCE)
Cadmium Induced Toxicity
 Cleanup


Research Projects
(Remediation) Research Projects
Bioremediation of PAH contaminated soil
Bioavailability of toxic compounds in water and sediment
+
Biomedical Research
How dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs ) damage DNA
Metabolism of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the body
Influence of maternal cadmium exposure on newborn birth weight
+
Remediation (Cleanup) Research
How well PAH-contaminated soil is cleaned up using bioremediation
Development of passive sampling devices to measure longer term
environmental exposures
+
Research Translation
Getting Science into Application
+
Dr. Rebecca Fry:
Toxic Metals and Your Health

Studies the relationship
between toxic metals in the
environment and detrimental
health effects, particularly in
children.

Studying children’s health
effects related to prenatal
exposure to cadmium in North
Carolina

With DHHS, mapped the
presence of toxic metals in
well water throughout the state
+
Toxic metals: Arsenic
Is
there the potential for exposure in
North Carolina?
Is
there the potential for exposure in
vulnerable populations?
Is
there a risk of exposure from food?
How
do metals impact our health?
+
Arsenic occurs naturally

20th most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust

A known multiple organ carcinogen

Non-cancer endpoints
+
Sources of arsenic

Treated wood

Pesticides or herbicides

Industrial by-products


Smelting

Coal Emissions
Food


Juices, Rice, Seafood
Drinking water
+
Arsenic: continues to poison the
water of millions around the globe
Smedley, Pauline L.. 2008 Sources and distribution of arsenic in groundwater and aquifers. In:
Appelo, Tony, (ed.) Arsenic in Groundwater : a World Problem. British Geological Survey
+More than 2.3 million people in N. Carolina
use water from private, unregulated wells
2009
75,000 people
>63,000 wells over 10 yrs
1436 wells >10 ppb
Hundreds > 50 ppb
Max=800 ppb
Sanders et al. Environ Int 201
Smedley, Pauline L.. 2008 Sources and distribution of arsenic in groundwater and aquifers. In:
Appelo, Tony, (ed.) Arsenic in Groundwater : a World Problem. British Geological Survey
+
Arsenic concentration (2009)
Sanders, A.P, et al. (2011) Arsenic in North Carolina: Public Health Implications, Environment International, Vol. 38 pp. 10-16
+
Arsenic in NC (10 yr avg)
+More than 2.3 million people in N. Carolina
use water from private, unregulated wells
2009 for
There is the potential
toxic metals exposure via
private
water
75,000well
people
>63,000 wells over 10 yrs
1436 wells >10 ppb
Hundreds > 50 ppb
Max=800 ppb
Sanders et al. Environ Int 201
Smedley, Pauline L.. 2008 Sources and distribution of arsenic in groundwater and aquifers. In:
Appelo, Tony, (ed.) Arsenic in Groundwater : a World Problem. British Geological Survey
+ Toxic metals are detectable in pregnant
women in North Carolina
Mercury: 5 exceed pregnancy level of concern (3.5 ug/L)
Lead: 1 exceeds CDC pregnant women advisory (5 ug/dL)
Sanders et al. Plos One 2012
+ Toxic metals are detectable in pregnant
women in North Carolina
Some of the samples from
pregnant women
in North Carolina
indicate exposure to toxic metals
Mercury: 5 exceed pregnancy level of concern (3.5 ug/L)
Lead: 1 exceeds CDC pregnant women advisory (5 ug/dL)
Sanders et al. Plos One 2012
+
Health effects of prenatal arsenic
exposure


Newborn health effects related to
maternal exposure to arsenic include increased risk of

spontaneous abortion,

stillbirth,

preterm birth,

low birth weight, and

infant mortality (reviewed by Vahter, 2008)
Prenatal and early life exposure to arsenic is associated with
adult onset disease

Cancer and non-cancer endpoints

Gene expression is
+
What can YOU do? Test Your Well!
+
Making Superfund Relevant
Share relevant scientific concepts and societal issues with students
Connect industrial hazardous waste to household hazardous waste to
help empower students to improve their immediate environment
Ample resources and curricula to support your teaching
+
http://www.sph.unc.edu/srp/
+
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/
+
Haz-ED
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/clas_act/haz-ed/hazindex.htm
+
Citizen’s Guide to
Clean Up Technologies
http://www.clu-in.org/products/citguide/
+
Cleaning Up Contaminated Sites
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/wastsite/index.htm
+
NY Times Topics: Superfund
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/superfund/index.html
+
Contact Information
Superfund Research Program
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://www.sph.unc.edu/srp/
Sarah Yelton
(919) 966-0895
sarah.yelton@unc.edu