Superfund
 
Toxic waste still plagues American communities 27 years after the U.S. government set up a program to identify and clean up the country’s worst sites. A one-year investigation by the Center for Public Integrity reveals the beleaguered state of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund effort, uncovers the companies and government agencies linked to the most sites and tracks progress of the clean up.
Anniston, Alabama
A video tour with the Center's Joaquin Sapien
Read Anniston's story
Click to visit residents affected by pollution

Superfund: 1,623 Sites

US map with superfund sites

Nearly 100 companies and the federal government are linked to 40 percent of the total sites represented above. One out of two Americans live within 10 miles of a Superfund site.


To search interactive maps:

10 states with the most sites:
New Jersey140Florida71
Pennsylvania122Washington65
New York110Texas54
California107Illinois51
Michigan  84Minnesota46
Human Exposure 'Uncontrolled' at 114 Superfund Sites
EPA secrecy about sites' toxic dangers extends even to senators' inquiries
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2007 — Scattered across the country, from New Jersey to California, are 114 toxic waste sites where the federal government has determined that the threat to humans from dangerous and sometimes carcinogenic substances is "not under control."  >>
Contaminated, But Still Not Off-Limits
High levels of likely carcinogen found at New Jersey brook that the EPA calls safe for recreational use
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2007 — For the past eight years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has assured residents of South Plainfield, N.J., that it is safe to swim in Bound Brook, even though the stream runs alongside a Superfund site — the EPA's designation for the country's worst toxic waste sites. >>
EPA diverts money from shared Superfund pool
Little-known change that helps agency meet funding challenges scrutinized
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2007 — The Environmental Protection Agency has diverted $709 million collected from possible Superfund polluters over the past seven years to special accounts, putting hundreds of millions of dollars out of reach of other Superfund sites waiting for cleanup.  >>
Close Connections
EPA pays at least three firms to clean up pollution they may have helped create
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2007 — At least three companies that the Environmental Protection Agency has linked to hazardous waste sites have landed government contracts to clean up their own sites, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. >>
Bankrupt Companies Avoid More Than $700 Million in Cleanup Costs
When firms fail, the government collects pennies on the dollar for Superfund site work
WASHINGTON, May 3, 2007 — Four companies connected by the Environmental Protection Agency to some of America's worst toxic waste sites have escaped more than half a billion dollars in pollution cleanup costs by declaring bankruptcy, potentially passing the tab onto taxpayers. >>
Superfund Today
Massive undertaking to clean up hazardous waste sites has lost both momentum and funding
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2007 — Communities across America face a daunting threat from hazardous waste sites — some near neighborhoods and schools — 27 years after the federal government launched the landmark Superfund program to wipe out the problem, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found. >>