What does Superfund do ?

1. A small town called Greenville was a nice place to live, With forests and ponds, it had lots to give. The people were happy in this little town, Until something happened and Greenville turned brown. The crystal blue sky one day turned gray, The flowers all wilted and the birds flew away. "My crops will not grow!" cried Farmer John Deer, "My well water is purple, and it used to be clear!" "We can't even breathe from the stench in the air!" The townspeople were angry, so they called in the Mayor.”Our town is not healthy, we're all getting sick. You must do something about it and do it right quick!" But the Mayor did not know what was wrong with her town, She did not know why Greenville turned brown. What could it be that could cause such pollution? The Town wanted an answer, and needed a solution. The source of the problem was right under their nose, It was the old Drumleaky factory right down the road

2. On the edge of the town was the factory site, It operated all day and even at night. "What do they make there?" the people would wonder, "There are terrible smells and noises like thunder!" The sign on the factory said "Globby Glue, Inc." It was Globby Glue, Inc. that created this stink. From factory smoke stacks cameclouds gray and black, And drums filled with old globby gluewere piled high out back. Not far away was a creek lined with trees, The fish that had lived there were now forced to flee The townspeople gathered to figure this out, But soon people grew angry and started to shout. "It's Mr. Drumleaky's factory that's ruining this place, It's the Globby Glue product and all of its waste." "But what can we do? Who can save us from harm?" "The factory must go, it's caused too much alarm

3. The Mayor took the stand, she had something to say. "I will call EPA and I will call them today." "But what can they do?" asked Mr. McDoubt, "They protect the environment, that's what they're about. Under the Superfund Law that was passed, They can clean up this place and they can clean it up fast." The Mayor picked up the phone and she called EPA, "The Town of Greenville," she said, "needs your help right away. The EPA experts were soon on the scene, With shovels and drills they were ready to clean. The first thing they did was remove all the waste, They took all the old drums leaking globby glue paste. They took samples of water and samples of dirtTo see where the environment had beendamaged or hurt.

4. The EPA experts held a town meetingTo gather suggestions and ideas for the cleaning.The townspeople came and they told EPAHow they'd like to see the mess go away.The EPA experts made suggestions and listenedAnd came up with a plan to make the town gliste The EPA experts soon came up with a planTo clean up the water, the air, and the land. "We'll bring in our scrubbers, our dusters, our mops, We'll clean from the ground up to the tree tops. We'll make sure your water is again safe to drink, And we'll make sure that your town is rid of that stink." PA knew what created this mess, It was Drumleaky's factory, but would he confess? Mr. Drumleaky thought he was o.k. He did not realize that he'd have to pay. But when EPA told him that he was at fault, The production of globby glue came to a halt

5. Mr. Drumleaky was not aware,That he had broken the law and caused quite a scare."I did not know throwing waste on the ground, Would bring so much harm to this tiny town. So Mr. Drumleaky had shown some remorse, When EPA asked for help, he said, "of course." But the Globby Glue product was still in demandDid all of this mean that the glue was now banned?Mr. Drumleaky went to ask EPA,"Can I still sell my Globby Glue? I have bills to pay.""You can still make the glue, and you don't have to make less,You'll just have to make it without making a mess

6. So the factory reopened, with new rules in place,For preventing pollution and cleaning up waste.They brought in the bulldozers, the trucks and the cranes, They cleared out the ditches, the sewers, and drains. They cleaned up all of the waste that they found, They even cleaned up the water that flowed underground. Then one morning after working all night, The town woke up to a beautiful sight. The air was now fresh, and the sky, it was blue! The birds had come back and the fishes had too. Everyone saw that the town was now cleanThe small Town of Greenville, Was once again green!

7. Hi there! My name is Bob and this is my daughter Jeannie. A couple of times each month we travel up to the farmland of New Jersey to do a little fishing. We talk about school, friends, and sometimes even catch a few fish too! For years, one of our favorite fishing spots was a stream near an old piece of land called Bog Creek farm. Although Bog Creek farm certainly looked normal, it had a dark secret. Bog Creek farm looked like an average, everyday chicken ranch. However, some people used the farm as a place to dump their old chemicals and paints. These chemicals were dumped into a 150 foot long trench, about half as long as a football field, which stretched across the property. We knew about Bog Creek farm's secret because we fished so close to the property.

8. After a few years of secret dumping, a neighbor complained to local officials about the stinky smells that kept coming from the property. After talking it over with the neighbor, the officials decided to visit the owner of Bog Creek farm and check it out for themselves. The owner told the officials that people had dumped chemicals into the trench on his property for as long as he could remember. Well, even he had been known to pour a jar of chemicals down into the trench every now and then. After listening to the owner's story, the officials asked the owner to bulldoze the trench and ship the dirt to a special storage area. The owner agreed. However, even after the dirt was shipped away, the stinky smells continued...

9. A few months later, things started to get a little strange. Whenever my daughter and I went on one of our fishing trips, we began to notice hundreds of dead fish that were floating in rivers and streams near Bog Creek farm. We weren't the only ones who were alarmed. As soon as state officials heard about the dying fish, they decided to pay another visit to Bog Creek farm and this time pay special attention to the soil all around the property.

10. At this time, the owner of Bog Creek farm ran out of money and abandoned the site. State officials quickly posted signs to warn the public not to walk on or near the property and continued their extensive site investigation. As the officials continued to investigate, they began to find more and more chemicals in the farm's soil. Alarmed that the chemicals found on the property would pose a significant danger to the people and animals who lived near the farm, the officials asked the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program for help. The Superfund program helps states clean up the most serious abandoned polluted areas -- places just like Bog Creek farm. Superfund officials began an immediate and thorough inspection of Bog Creek farm. They determined that the farm was really polluted with various chemicals and was in need of serious cleanup.

11. First, Superfund cleanup crews dug up all the polluted soil on the site. After the soil was removed, EPA built a special kind of machine called an incinerator. The incinerator at Bog Creek farm burnt up enough soil to fill 500 tractor trailers! One really neat thing about the incinerator (besides its ability to burn up tons of soil) was that it could be taken apart and reassembled just about anywhere EPA wanted. This means that instead of having to make a new incinerator, EPA could just take this one apart and then put it back together at another site! Once the soil was burnt up, Superfund cleanup crews tackled the problem of cleaning up the streams and rivers which were near Bog Creek.

12. What does Superfund do? The Superfund Program helps clean up the environment. Many areas of the environment are contaminated with hazardous waste. Years ago, people did not know that throwing hazardous waste on the ground might hurt humans, animals, and the environment. Many wastes were dumped on the ground, thrown into rivers, or left out in the open. The waste was polluting the environment and making a mess. When Superfund started in 1980, the Environmental Protection Agency - known as the EPA - started to clean up the some of these messes. The areas that are the most polluted are called Superfund sites. There are over 1,300 Superfund sites across the country. What can EPA do about hazardous waste? When EPA finds out about an area that is polluted, they go to investigate it. They find out what kind of toxic waste is there and if it is dangerous to humans, animals, or the environment. If the problem is very serious and can be cleaned up right away, EPA goes in and cleans it up. This is called a "Removal," because usually EPA has to remove something, like soil that is contaminated with toxic waste, or containers leaking chemicals. If the problem is serious but cannot be cleaned up by just removing something, EPA then has to come up with a long-term plan on how to clean up the mess. If there is a town or city near the Superfund site, EPA asks the people who live nearby to help them come up with a plan for cleaning up the pollution. Once EPA has finalized this plan, the cleanup begins.

13. How does a Superfund site get cleaned up? When the cleanup starts, there is always a lot of work to be done. Usually EPA will put a fence around the area that is being cleaned up. The fence helps make sure that people and animals do not come in contact with any of the toxic waste. Sometimes many parts of the environment are polluted. There can be toxic waste in the soil, the air, in lakes, streams, and rivers, or even in the groundwater, which is water that flows beneath the surface of the ground. If the pollution covers a large area it will take a lot of people and lots of different machines to clean it up. The cleanup work will continue until the contamination is no longer a threat to humans, animals, and the environment. It will sometimes take many years to clean up a polluted area. Who pays for cleaning up a Superfund site? EPA tries to find out who put the hazardous waste at the site. The individuals or companies who are responsible for putting the waste there are required to pay for the cost of the cleanup. Sometimes EPA also asks the people who put the waste there to help do the cleanup work. If the people who caused the contamination cannot be found, or if the contamination was caused by a company that has gone out of business, then EPA pays for the cleanup. It is paid for by the Superfund Trust Fund, which is a special fund of money that is set aside to help clean up the environment. The money comes from taxes that chemical and oil companies have to pay. What has the Superfund program accomplished so far? Almost 90% of all of the Superfund sites across the country have been cleaned up or are in the process of being cleaned up. There is still a lot of work to be done, since new Superfund sites are being discovered every year. Superfund has helped to make our environment a cleaner and safer place to live.