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Displaying 16 - 30 of 2668 results
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What is a site assessment and what is the difference between a site assessment and a site investigation?
The first step of the site assessment process is known as a preliminary assessment (PA). This assessment gathers historical and other readily available information on site conditions and surroundings to evaluate whether the site poses a potential threat to human health and the environment and/or whether further investigation is needed…
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What questions was EPA trying to find answers to during its first round of sampling at the Norwood Landfill site?
The main question that EPA seeks to answer is whether the identified waste areas warrant consideration for placement of the Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) or Superfund List. In the first round of sampling, EPA collected surface soil samples (0-2 feet) from the landfill property, and surface water…
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What does it mean when EPA finds contamination that “exceeds screening levels?”
Screening levels are not the same as cleanup or action levels. An exceedance of a screening level indicates the need for additional evaluation, potentially including a site-specific risk assessment.
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Criteria for oil production facilities to be qualified facilities
Qualified facilities are eligible for streamlined regulatory requirements in 40 CFR §112.6, which include self-certification of SPCC Plans. What criteria do oil production facilities have to meet in order to be considered qualified facilities? Oil production facilities, like all other facilities, must meet the criteria in §112.3(g)(1) or (2) to…
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If EPA finds any contamination associated with the Norwood Landfill site that “exceeds” what is considered safe, will EPA clean up that contamination - even if the Agency cannot find any “pathways” for that contamination to reach humans or sensitive environments?
If the sampling data shows an exceedance of a screening level, EPA will consult with the site Toxicologist and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to conduct a human health risk screening assessment to determine any potential threat to human health. EPA will also consult with the…
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How do you know you are not missing some areas that might be contaminated?
EPA uses all credible information available, including community input, regarding the boundaries and geographic areas of waste that may have been deposited or where contaminated soil may have been placed. The team selects its sampling locations based on those areas and consults historic aerial images that help depict those boundaries.
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Exposure Pathway
The way in which a person can come into contact with a hazardous substance. Three common routes of exposure are breathing (inhalation); eating or drinking (ingestion); or contact to the skin (dermal contact).
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Contamination
A physical, chemical, biological, and/or radiological substance or matter that has an adverse effect on air, water, or soil quality.
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Criteria for selecting alternative release scenarios
As part of the hazard assessment, owners and operators of Program 2 and Program 3 covered processes must identify and analyze alternative release scenarios (40 CFR §68.28). What criteria should be used when selecting an alternative release scenario? The owner or operator of a stationary source subject to the risk…
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Why hasn’t the Norwood Landfill Site been identified as a Superfund Site? Two nearby landfills, Folcroft and Clearview, which were established and in use at the same time as Norwood Landfill and Dump have both been designated as Superfund sites.
EPA is still conducting its investigation of the Norwood Landfill Site to determine if it should be placed on the National Priorities List (NPL), or Superfund List. Thus far, the data collected has not demonstrated that the site warrants placement on the NPL. Both the Folcroft and Clearview Landfills went…
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Use Federal Tier II Form When Claiming Trade Secret
40 CFR Part 350 allows facilities to withhold certain chemical information when reporting under EPCRA if the facility claims those chemicals to be a trade secret. When submitting the required trade secret claim package for Tier II reports, must a facility use the federal Tier II inventory form or can…
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Are churches that have Sunday school classes, daycare centers, or kindergartens regulated under the Asbestos Emergency Response Act (AHERA)?
The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) applies to public and private non-profit elementary and secondary schools. The term ‘non-profit elementary or secondary school’ means any elementary or secondary school as defined in section 198 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Under this Act, the terms elementary…
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Do the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requirements apply to charter schools that provide online elementary and secondary education through learning centers and/or directly in the home?
If the charter school providing online education is considered an elementary or secondary school under relevant state law and the facility where such online education is located qualifies as a “school building” under AHERA, then that same charter school’s learning center would also be covered by the AHERA requirements. Since…
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Do the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requirements in 40 CFR part 763 mandating routine facility inspections and management plan development apply to for-profit private schools as they apply in public K-12 schools?
AHERA requirements for facility inspections and management plan development do not apply to for-profit private schools, but they do apply to non-profit private K-12 schools. This exemption for private for-profit schools was directly mandated in the enabling legislation (the AHERA statute). Other Frequent Questions about Asbestos Learn About Asbestos Asbestos…
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Where can I find older NEI data (prior to 2008)?
The raw data and summaries that are still available (dating back to 1990) can be obtained from the web page https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/pollutant-emissions-summary-files-earlier-neis . Starting with 2001 data, a more limited selection of summary files are available.
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