Cleaning Up Our Land, Water and Air

Accidents, spills, leaks, and past improper disposal and handling of hazardous materials and wastes have resulted in tens of thousands of sites across our country that have contaminated our land, water (groundwater and surface water), and air (indoor and outdoor). Some of the more common categories of contaminants include: industrial solvents, petroleum products, metals, pesticides, bacteria, and radiological materials. These contaminated sites can threaten human health as well as the environment, in addition to hampering economic growth and the vitality of local communities. EPA and its state and territorial partners have developed a variety of cleanup programs to assess and, where necessary, clean up these contaminated sites. Cleanups may be done by EPA, other federal agencies, states or municipalities, or the company or party responsible for the contamination. Click the following links for more cleanup-related information and resources.

Find out about:

• Cleanups in your area - information about specific cleanup sites
• What you can do to help with cleanups?
• Upcoming events on the Cleanup calendar
• Technologies used to clean up sites or specific types of contaminants
• Long Term Stewardship (PDF) (6 pp, 444K, About PDF Files) of sites to protect human health and the environment after cleanup remedies are put in place
• Partners we work with during the cleanup process
• National cleanup laws, statutes, regulations and standards, and policies and guidance.
• What is being done regarding cleanup enforcement and complying with cleanup orders
• Cleanup grants and funding available to support cleanups
• Cleanup publications and other related information pertaining to cleanups
• Terms related to cleanup in the EPA glossary
• Basic information about cleaning up our land, water and air