Do You Live Near a Hazardous Waste Site That's Still Not Cleaned Up?

More than 1000 of the nation's worst hazardous waste sites have been cleaned up since the Love Canal disaster that broke in 1978 led to the first Superfund law in 1980. But many more have not, and many more still are neglected because they are not on the U.S. EPA's National Priorities List (NPL), which includes some 1300 sites. Some of the non-NPL sites may be on state cleanup lists.

Several data resources can help journalists who want to develop stories about still-hazardous sites in their locality or region. One is the NPL itself, which is online and searchable here.

You can find a broader set of sites through EPA's CERCLIS database. Although it is no longer being updated, it is still online and searchable here.

In addition, reporters should check in with the agency in their state that handles hazardous waste cleanups, as some of these have online databases of sites. A starting point to find your state agency is here.