Superfund Sites in Virginia

In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to provide Federal funding to clean up the most-polluted sites in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a computerized inventory of potential hazardous substance release sites, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS).

Not all sites qualify for Federal funding. The "Superfund" is used to clean up sites on the National Priorities List (NPL).

Superfund sites in Virginia
Source: Environmental Protection Agency

EPA's map of Superfund sites in Virginia provides one guide to seeing the concentration of manufacturing in Virginia in the middle on the 20th Century. Notice the small amount of hazardous waste generated in the southwest part of the state, reflecting the limited number of factories located there in the days before pollution controls. Coal mining exposes sulfur that can cause acid mine runoff... but typically Virginia mines do not involve heavy metals that are toxic enough to attract EPA's attention. What other patterns can you see? Do urban areas have more sites than rural areas?

Waste Management in Virginia
Economics of Virginia
Geography of Virginia