Superfund

Superfund is a program administered by the EPA to locate, investigate, and clean up the worst hazardous waste sites throughout the United States. Before Superfund, Americans were less aware of how dumping chemical wastes might affect public health and the environment. Hazardous wastes were often left in the open, where they seeped into the ground, flowed into rivers and lakes, and contaminated soil and groundwater. Consequently, where these practices were intensive or continuous, there were uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. These sites include abandoned warehouses, manufacturing facilities, processing plants, and landfills. Citizen concern about the extent of this problem prompted Congress in 1980 to establish the Superfund Program to eliminate the health and environmental threats posed by hazardous waste sites.

EPA administers the Superfund program in cooperation with individual states and tribal governments. You may use the Superfund Query to retrieve Superfund data from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) database in Envirofacts. You can search for any combination of facility name and geographic location as well as information on related laws and regulations. For the technical user, there is a graphic model of the CERCLIS database and table and column information (metadata).

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information

Hazardous waste information is contained in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo), a national program management and inventory system about hazardous waste handlers. In general, all generators, transporters, treaters, storers, and disposers of hazardous waste are required to provide information about their activities to state environmental agencies. These agencies, in turn pass on the information to regional and national EPA offices. This regulation is governed by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984. You may use the Hazardous Waste Query to determine identification and location data for specific hazardous waste handlers, and to find a wide range of information on treatment, storage, and disposal facilities regarding permit/closure status, compliance with Federal and State regulations, and cleanup activities. There is also information on related laws and regulations.

For the technical user there is a graphic model of the RCRAInfo database and table and column information (metadata).

Biennial Reporting System

The Biennial Reporting System is a national system that collects data on the generation, management, and minimization of hazardous waste. This system captures detailed data on the generation of hazardous waste from large quantity generators and data on waste management practices from treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. The biennial data provide a basis for trend analyses. Data about the previous year's hazardous waste activities is reported on even years by the facilities to EPA. EPA then provides reports on hazardous waste generation and management activity that accompany the data files. You may use a variety of data retrieval options in the Biennial Reporting System Query to search for other facilities that interest you. Information on related laws and regulations is also available.

For the technical user there is a graphic BRS model and information on related table and column information.

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