Superfund Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Superfund - Research Paper Example The result is the superfund, specifically which is placing funding and aid to stop the toxins and chemicals from being dumped into various regions. The approach is one which is furthered by the pressured cleanups by corporations throughout the different regions. This paper will examine the approach which is being taken by the EPA and how this is linking to the superfund. Background of the Superfund The superfund was established in New York City in 1980. It consists of a program that is based on offering monetary support and initiatives to clean up toxic waste and chemicals that are hazardous around the area. The project began after it was noted that over 22,000 tons of toxic waste were dumped by Niagara Falls, New York, in the known Love Canal. The Love Canal was completed and purchased for the use of different environmental needs. However, corporations began to pile toxic waste and chemicals into the canal. After the inability to move the toxins, the corporations covered the canal a nd sold this to the city of New York for $1. After a certain period of time, an explosion resulted from the large amount of chemicals and toxins in the area. The Love Canal continues to be hazardous for the environmental area it surrounds and directly affects the land which one is in. The superfund was established to force companies to clean up these areas and to tax those who were not complying with the law. Today, over 1,000 sites have been cleaned with billions of dollars being spent. Over 70% of the funds are going to corporations that began to the toxic waste and chemical buildup. The money is combined with government initiatives and companies which are linked to the polluted sites (New York Times, 2011). The initiatives which began with the funds and the need to clean up various areas has continued with specific policies and procedures offered by the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill was originally introduced by a bipartisan leadership group of senators and passed by t he Senate with limiting measures for the cleanup. The House amended this and approved the final alternatives in 1980 through S.1341. However, it was also noted that the final bill and law was sidetracked and moved into different departments because of the other proposals taken earlier. In the Carter Administration, a similar bill was being passed, specifically which was based on toxic waste and oil spill cleanup. This bill had been bypassed during the time because of other political objectives which would not provide the right cleanup. The problem which arose then created Congress to approve the bill with limited measures from the past history, specifically to take care of the problem with the Love Canal without considering the overall task of the Superfund and the extra requirements and provisions from the final bill and law which would be passed. This has led to a variety of amendments as well as questions of responsibility, taxation and corporate responsibility linked to the main bill (Grad, 1982). The approach which was taken in 1980 and the outcomes have resulted in political economics that have become a part of the Superfund and initiatives which have been taken. The approach which is now being taken is to develop the activities as a space for the contaminated sites that are continuing to have waste, as opposed to being active in the continuous dumping of the