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Five Worst States on Hazardous Waste

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors and regulates hazardous waste sites nationally. In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, the EPA maintains a Superfund (a term for abandoned hazardous waste sites that may negatively affect local ecosystems and people) list for each state according to its priority. The top five states in terms of total hazardous waste sites and Superfund sites are New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, California and Michigan. Examples of substances deemed hazardous to the environment and population are volatile organic compounds, dioxin, lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and arsenic. Health risks include irritation of the eyes and throat, nausea, headaches, liver damage and nervous system damage. Many of these substances are known carcinogens and mutagens.

  1. New Jersey

    • New Jersey tops the list with 116 hazardous waste sites on the EPAs 2008 Superfund list. The CPS and Madison Industries site, which spans 35 acres in Middlesex County, New Jersey sits near the top of the EPA's National Priority List. From 1967 onwards, these two companies discharged approximately 400 tons of hazardous waste into the public sewer system. These substances included organic chemicals (for instance, benzene and methylene chloride) as well as heavy metals (notably cadmium and lead). The EPA is still conducting studies on the site and cleanup has not begun; however, the state has sued the two companies for the cost of cleanup.

    Pennsylvania

    • Pennsylvania ranks second with 96 hazardous waste sites. Pennsylvania's highest ranking waste site according to the EPAs National Priorities List is the Naval Air Development Center (NADC). This site covers 734 acres in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and was commissioned in 1944. Traces of dichloroethane, chromium and nickel were found in groundwater on the base. Although no significant amounts of these substances were found in nearby surface water, the affected area is the Stockton Formation aquifer, which supplies more than 100,000 persons with water within 3 miles of the base.

    New York

    • New York ranks third with 86 hazardous waste sites. New York City's Gowanus Canal has been recently added to the EPA's Superfund list. Since the 1860s, the canal has been the home of manufacturing gas plants, coal yards, concrete-mixing facilities, tanneries and other heavy industries. Heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds have been found along a 1.8-mile span of the canal. Cleanup operations have not yet begun at this site.

    California

    • California ranks fourth with 97 hazardous waste sites. Toxic wastes can persist in the environment for hundreds of years. There is no better example of this than California's McCormick and Baxter creosoting site located in Stockton, California. From 1942 to 1990, McCormick and Baxter treated utility poles and railroad ties with creosote, PCP and arsenic and disposed of waste oils in unlined ponds and concrete containers on-site. Surface water runoff from the site collected in nearby stormwater collection ponds until 1978. Beneath this site is a shallow aquifer, in which traces of toxic substances were found. Moreover, this shallow aquifer is connected with a deep aquifer that supplies more than 97,000 people with water. Soil, surface- and groundwater contamination is not yet contained, and the effect on the local population is yet unknown.

    Michigan

    • Michigan ranks fifth with 67 hazardous waste sites. Due to Michigan's prolonged industrial history, much of which predated modern regulations, the state contains hazardous waste sites that were left uncontained for many years. The American Anodco, Inc., site in Ionia, Michigan is roughly 8 acres in size. American Anodco Inc. cleaned and anodized aluminum parts for the auto industry since 1962 and disposed of the waste in unlined lagoons. Water contaminated with nitric acid and chromium has leeched into the underlying aquifer which supplies more than 10,000 people with water. This aquifer is made up of glacial drift (mostly sand and permeable gravel); therefore, the risk of groundwater contamination and proliferation is extremely high. Additionally, the Grand River runs within 3 miles of this site, which itself remains unfenced in many areas.

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