Superfund

Superfund cost rates are soaring. Although the Superfund program was authorized through 1994 at $15 billion, covering more than 1,100 nonfederal sites, these figures could rise to $75 billion and 4,5000 nonfederal sites, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Because of these escalating costs, Congress is interested in the human health risks addressed by the program. Although the Environmental Protection Agency has indicated that about 73 million people live fewer than four miles from at least one Superfund site, much debate has centered on the extent to which these sites pose health risks for cancer or other conditions, such as birth defects or nerve or liver damage. This report discusses (1) the extent to which sites may pose health risks under current land uses, as opposed the risks that may develop if land uses change in the future; the nature of the current risks; and the type of environmental media--groundwater, soil, or aid--that pose these risks and (2) whether EPA's short-term responses to mitigate the health risks from Superfund sites have reduced the risks under current land uses.

GAO found that: (1) 71 of the 225 Superfund sites contained in the EPA data base pose serious health risks that warrant cleanup, given current land uses; (2) 28 percent of the 71 sites pose cancer risks, 30 percent pose risks for noncancer conditions, and the remainder pose risks for both cancer and noncancer conditions; (3) 119 of the 225 sites do not pose serious health risks under current land uses, but these sites may pose future health risks; (4) EPA may clean up the remaining sites, even though they do not pose current or future health risks, in order to comply with various regulations or to mitigate a threat to the environment; (5) EPA has temporarily mitigated immediate health risks at 31 of the 71 sites; and (6) the remaining 40 sites do not warrant removal actions, even though these sites pose longer-term health risks under current land uses.