Do you know what's in your backyard?
April 6th 2011 15:50
Many people, including myself, will go to extreme measures to ensure the health and well-being of themselves as well as their family. From exercising to eating organic food, I try my best to maintain a healthy body. But what about the external factors, such as our environment, that we can't control. An assignment I recently had to complete for my Environmental Health course opened my eyes to the reality that there are things I can't control.
The Environmental Protection Agency offers a wide-range of information from the Japanese Nuclear Disaster to what's happening in your own backyard. You can investigate the areas where you live or maybe learn more about an area you are planning to move to. What concerns me are hazardous waste sites or those areas that have the possibility of becoming a future problem. Superfunds are established under the federal government to ensure the health of the citizens and to protect the environment. The funds do this by discovering hazardous sites and implementing a clean-up plan. There are 10 regional offices around the US. For example, Region 4 contains Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Once a site is deemed hazardous it is placed on the "National Priorities List". So what exactly is a hazardous site? It is a site that has been determined to release known hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants into the environment. As of April 01, 2011, according to the EPA website, there are 1,290 final sites in the US. Where is the closest one to your backyard?
The "Superfund" site and the "National Priorities List" provides citizens information so that they may be educated on where they live. Each hazardous site has its own page which provides background information, information on the threats and contaminants, the clean-up plan and progress of the clean-up. Take the initiative to visit the link listed below and become educated on where you live, work, and raise your children.
EPA Superfund Sites
The Environmental Protection Agency offers a wide-range of information from the Japanese Nuclear Disaster to what's happening in your own backyard. You can investigate the areas where you live or maybe learn more about an area you are planning to move to. What concerns me are hazardous waste sites or those areas that have the possibility of becoming a future problem. Superfunds are established under the federal government to ensure the health of the citizens and to protect the environment. The funds do this by discovering hazardous sites and implementing a clean-up plan. There are 10 regional offices around the US. For example, Region 4 contains Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Once a site is deemed hazardous it is placed on the "National Priorities List". So what exactly is a hazardous site? It is a site that has been determined to release known hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants into the environment. As of April 01, 2011, according to the EPA website, there are 1,290 final sites in the US. Where is the closest one to your backyard?
The "Superfund" site and the "National Priorities List" provides citizens information so that they may be educated on where they live. Each hazardous site has its own page which provides background information, information on the threats and contaminants, the clean-up plan and progress of the clean-up. Take the initiative to visit the link listed below and become educated on where you live, work, and raise your children.
EPA Superfund Sites
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