Superfund sites are polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. They were designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. CERCLA authorized the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a list of such locations, which are placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). [1]
The NPL guides the EPA in "determining which sites warrant further investigation" for environmental remediation. [2] As of August 17,2022 [update] , there were 1,329 Superfund sites in the National Priorities List in the United States. [2] Forty-three additional sites have been proposed for entry on the list, and 452 sites have been cleaned up and removed from the list. [2] New Jersey, California, and Pennsylvania have the most sites. [3]
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as Superfund sites. There are 40,000 federal Superfund sites across the country, and approximately 1,300 of those sites have been listed on the National Priorities List (NPL). Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups).