Toxic Superfund sites are still with us

Virginia:

“They were the worst of the worst, the most-dangerous toxic-waste dumps in Virginia. Bearing names like Avtex, Kim-Stan and Greenwood, these poisoned plots spawned long-ago headlines and, in at least one case, killed people. Today they are Virginia’s 31 Superfund sites, still with us after years of cleanup — safer but not yet tame.

‘By definition it poses health risks to the public’ if a site sits on the Superfund list, said Noah Sachs, an environmental law expert at the University or Richmond School of Law. The nation’s most hazardous waste sites go on the Superfund list, named for a pool of federal dollars created to help clean the properties.

In Virginia, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has spent or obligated more than $250 million for cleanups at Superfund sites. Many military installations harbor Superfund sites, and the Department of Defense has spent or obligated more than $760 million. The state has kicked in more than $8 million.”

~ Writes Rex Springston of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

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