EPA gives green light on Superfund sites.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in November a "return-to-use" initiative for almost 500 Superfund sites that have already been cleaned up. Since 1980, around 900 sites have been cleaned up, but almost 500 of these sites were addressed before the agency's current focus on future site reuse, and may have unnecessary barriers that prevent use. EPA is looking to identify and, where possible, lift restrictions that are not necessary for site safety, thereby reinstituting their usefulness. Currently, there are about 500 sites still being refurbished. A Superfund site is land that has been classified by the government as containing hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants. Once labeled as such, the land is then cleaned and its harmful inhabitants eradicated or encapsulated, and then the land is returned to its community. More than one third of the total number of previous Superfund sites that have gone back into use are used for recreational or ecological purposes.

For more information on previous Superfund sites in your region, visit www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle, and click on the "Contact Us" link.