In February of this year, the federal government allocated $1 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) program, better known as the Superfund program. Initiated in 1980, the Superfund program is a long-term initiative aimed at cleaning up toxic waste from hazardous “Superfund sites” across the country.
Due to the involvement of several largely unregulated industries in the generation of this waste, the federal government, through the Superfund program, seeks compensation from potentially responsible parties to fund remedial cleanup efforts. Presently, there are more than 40,000 uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the United States, with more than 1,000 of them qualifying as Superfund sites.
Superfund sites typically exhibit high concentrations of hazardous, often carcinogenic, chemical waste such as lead and mercury. According to the EPA, these sites primarily include landfills, former factory sites, and mines. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, these sites have been linked to various severe health conditions, including infant mortality, mental health issues, water and foodborne illnesses, and cancer. Arsenic, a common environmental contaminant found at many Superfund sites, is notably listed as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Residents might be surprised to discover how close they live to a Superfund site. Just a 30-minute drive from Boston lies Iron Horse Park in Billerica, Massachusetts. This town has been a Superfund site since 1984 due to its history as a former industrial complex. Despite a decade-long cleanup effort and millions of dollars invested by the EPA, the site is still listed as a Superfund site and undergoes ongoing environmental remediation. Notably, the site is within a mile of Billerica’s S. G. Haggar Elementary School, posing significant risks to the neighborhood’s children.
With 40 Superfund sites currently existing in Massachusetts, many residents express concern about the potential for chemical exposure. Contamination in water runoff and soil can easily spread beyond the bounds of a Superfund site, making cleanup and remediation essential. However, despite public and prolonged cleanup efforts, Superfund site locations are not widely known by residents, leading to many people unknowingly moving into housing near Superfund sites without awareness of the area’s contamination status.
This lack of awareness is often a result of housing officials failing to inform incoming residents about the Superfund site. To address this, Sampan has included a list of the 40 current Superfund sites in the state of Massachusetts recognized by the EPA Superfund program at the end of this article. Additional information on these sites and ongoing remediation efforts can also be found on the US EPA official website.
The locations of Superfund sites have long been a concern for environmental justice activists, as these sites are disproportionately located near impoverished minority communities across the United States. According to EPA data from September 2020, minorities make up around 50% of the population living within 1 mile of Superfund sites. Notably, despite comprising less than 6% of the country’s population, Asian-Americans bear a disproportionate burden, with 8.5% of the population in a one-mile radius of a Superfund site identifying as Asian.
Much of this contaminated land contains affordable housing options, and housing officials often do not adequately inform or protect residents from the risks associated with environmental exposure. Investigations by APM Reports and The Intercept in January 13, 2021, revealed that more than 9,000 federally subsidized housing properties are within a mile of a Superfund site, with housing officials often neglecting to inform residents. According to Michael Kane, executive director at the National Alliance of HUD Tenants, “Sometimes people know anecdotally, but most of the time people that live on toxic sites don’t know their kids are going out and playing on contaminated land, with lead and other toxins.” Additionally, as there is little incentive to move these housing sites, low-income populations continue to inhabit these houses despite the potential health risks.
Despite ongoing Superfund funding, many residents in Superfund sites are demanding more from the federal government to ensure their safety. While 70% of Superfund funding comes from parties implicated in the contamination, 30% still comes from taxpayers’ pockets. Advocates are calling on the federal government for greater regulations on industries to prevent future environmental contamination and for larger retributions for the damage already done to contaminated sites. As many Superfund sites in Massachusetts date back for decades and are still not under control, residents are urging more aggressive remediation efforts and increased funding prioritizing the health and well-being of those suffering from pollution. Given that the population living near Superfund sites is primarily impoverished and consists of minority communities, there are also calls for environmental justice efforts, including the relocation of housing to safer areas and greater transparency from government agencies about the risks associated with living in these areas.
For any change to be made towards the handling of Superfund sites, it is necessary to involve government officials with the power to advocate for these changes. Despite promises to remediate the environment since 1980, the actions of the federal government have not resulted in a decrease in the number of hazardous sites in Massachusetts over the past several decades.
When Superfund funding was granted in February 2023, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts celebrated “historic investments to ensure the EPA has the resources it needs to finally tackle polluted sites and to finish these projects once and for all.” If, after reading this article, you feel that continued hazardous waste contamination, life-threatening health risks, and a disproportionate environmental burden on diverse, low-income communities signify that the Superfund program has not done enough to protect communities from environmental dangers, it is necessary to pressure local and state representatives to ensure greater efforts in the future.
List of Superfund Sites in Massachusetts
- ATLAS TACK CORP., FAIRHAVEN, MA
- BAIRD & MCGUIRE, HOLBROOK, MA
- BJAT LLC, FRANKLIN, MA
- BLACKBURN & UNION PRIVILEGES, WALPOLE, MA
- CANNON ENGINEERING CORP. (CEC), BRIDGEWATER, MA
- CHARLES GEORGE RECLAMATION TRUST LANDFILL, TYNGSBOROUGH, MA
- CREESE & COOK TANNERY, DANVERS, MA
- FORT DEVENS, FORT DEVENS, MA
- FORT DEVENS-SUDBURY TRAINING ANNEX, SUDBURY, MA
- GE – HOUSATONIC RIVER
- GROVELAND WELLS, GROVELAND, MA
- HANSCOM FIELD/HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, BEDFORD, MA
- HATHEWAY & PATTERSON, MANSFIELD, MA
- HAVERHILL MUNICIPAL LANDFILL, HAVERHILL, MA
- HOCOMONCO POND, WESTBOROUGH, MA
- INDUSTRI-PLEX, WOBURN, MA
- IRON HORSE PARK, BILLERICA, MA
- MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY (USARMY), WATERTOWN, MA
- NATICK LABORATORY ARMY RESEARCH
