(noun) any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/ or the environment. These sites are placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). The Superfund program was created through legislation in 1980, via the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Several important changes were made to the Superfund program through the 1986 Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). Since 2001 the program has suffered from underfunding, and most of the money for cleanup now comes from tax payers and potentially responsible parties (PRPs).
FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE - What Happens to Contaminated Soil After it is Removed?
1 | Waste storage occurs here until it is brought into the incinerator system by the crane. Then it enters a condenser and is passed through turbines, which help carry the waste through to the furnace.
2| The incineration process takes place within the furnace. This heats up to as high as 2000°F, which is considered excessive. Normal temperatures range between 1,600°F - 1800.F° Here, almost all combustible portions of the compounds are burned off, leaving behind the incombustible portion called bottom ash, which contains the lead which is harvested. This is taken off site.
3 | After leaving the furnace, the remaining contaminants are pushed to the precipitators for particulate extraction. This process lowers the temperature to approximately 280° to 400° F so that these can pass through fabric filters. A byproduct from this process is called fly ash.
4 | Before leaving system, the flue gas, which is combustion exhaust from the process, is put through another process that extracts sulfure dioxide which may have entered the gas through a previous cleaning process within the incineration process. Desulfurization creates the byproduct gypsum, an industrial material for plaster.
5 | Once it meets the standards for environmental protection, the gas leaves the system through a chute.
