1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Chemistry
photo of Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Anne Marie's Chemistry Blog

By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D., About.com Guide to Chemistry since 2001

School Children Still at Risk from Toxic Waste

Monday August 25, 2008
flashfilm, Getty Images
Do you know if there is a Superfund site where you live? Good luck finding out from the Superfund website. I don't think they want you to know. For example, one featured site is listed for my 'area', in Florida (I'm in Myrtle Beach, SC). Just a guess, but I think Savannah River is still pretty messed up and that's quite a lot closer. In fact, on another website, I learned there were no fewer than 4 Superfund sites in Myrtle Beach. There is even one in Murrells Inlet, probably within blocks of my house. These sites may be perfectly remediated, but the point is, the existence and status of the sites isn't common knowledge.

The Superfund was enacted by the US Congress in 1980 in response to the Love Canal disaster. The federal money to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances comes from a tax on petroleum and chemical industries. Given that Love Canal was thirty years ago, you might think the danger to school children from hazardous waste sites would be a thing of the relatively distant past. Not so, according to an article at CNN which basically says schools can still be built on or near toxic waste dumps. Some states prohibit building a school on an active waste site, but consider a remediated site to be just fine... which it may be, or may not be. I'd rather not take the chance with my kids and I think most parents feel the same way. Unfortunately the Love Canal scenario could still occur today because toxic waste dump land is cheap land and cheap land is affordable for building schools. Kind of makes you stop and think, doesn't it?

Comments

February 6, 2009 at 4:47 pm
(1) Steve Rawlings says:

In south Wales (UK) Newport City Council planners in south Wales have granted planning permission to build a school on a toxic waste dump without even requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment to be carried out!

The dump is filled with Monsanto PCBs, as a well as arsenic, zinc, mercury, asbestos, PAHs, and loads of other nasties dumped during the period from about 1930-1970.

It sure does make you think!

July 17, 2009 at 3:26 am
(2) s says:

hi – i live in murrells inlet, too – and have also been searching out the superfund sites – i did not know there was one in murrells inlet; however, there are two large ones in myrtle beach, the former myrtle beach air force base and AVX. while the government has spent millions and has signed a new 10 year contract for continued cleanup, walah, we find market common, a community – to live, eat & play, right on top of contaminated ground water with documented plumes of horrid chemicals – some 40 acres wide.
now please tell me, how the government sold land to developers to be used for residential, restaurants, parks, ponds, etc. on a still-contaminated superfund site. no one is talking about it – what’s up?? the toxic levels are way beyond the AVX site – yet AVX is being sued by surrounding affected landowners. What about market common? Do real estate agents have to disclose the contaminated groundwater and plumes of toxins? Who’s testing? Who’s watching? Who cares?

July 17, 2009 at 9:28 am
(3) chemistry says:

S… regarding the Market Common, I would say the reason is, no one knows. Can you point me toward the documentation that supports your post?

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

Explore Chemistry

About.com Special Features

A Smarter Future

Tips that will help finance your education, excel in the classroom, and advance your career. More >

How to Ace the GRE

Being well prepared is the first step; here are more essential suggestions. More >

  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Chemistry

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.