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Frequent Questions
This page provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment. For general information about the Superfund program, visit Superfund Frequently Asked Questions. If you do not find the question or answer you're looking for, please contact us.
- What is a Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment?
- How might a Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment affect me?
- How do I find out about the risks in my community?
- How do I become involved in a risk assessment?
- Is EPA working to improve community involvement in Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessments?
What is a Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment?
A Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment is the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the risk posed to human health and/or the environment by the actual or potential presence and/or use of specific pollutants at Superfund sites.
How might a Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment affect me?
If there is a hazardous waste site or facility in your community, a risk assessment will help determine whether or not that site poses a threat to the health of community residents or to the environment. It will help determine things such as whether a local stream has been impacted by the presence of pollutants.
How do I find out about the risks in my community?
Each EPA regional office has a Community Involvement Coordinator (CIC) assigned to work with communities located near Superfund sites. EPA and CICs conduct community meetings to keep people who live near a site informed about site activities and risks.
In addition, the Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) Program provides funds for qualified citizens' groups affected by a Superfund site to hire independent technical advisors to help interpret and comment on site-related information, including risk data.
How do I become involved in a risk assessment?
Community Advisory Groups (CAGs) are designed to enhance community involvement in the Superfund process, including the assessment, characterization, and management of site risks. CAGs respond to a growing awareness within EPA and throughout the Federal government that particular populations who are at special risk from environmental threats--such as minority and low-income populations--may have been overlooked in past efforts to encourage public participation. CAGs facilitate the participation of community members, particularly those from low-income and minority groups, in the decision-making process at Superfund sites.
Is EPA working to improve community involvement in Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment?
Yes. EPA set up Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund (RAGS) workgroups in 1996. One of these workgroups, Community Involvement in Superfund Risk Assessments, is focusing on ways communities can provide input and encouraging early involvement in Superfund risk assessments when feasible. The workgroup is developing guidance materials that identify ways to get people involved on a site-by-site basis and emphasizes the need for EPA to clarify how such input will be considered in the risk assessment.
In March 1999, the Community Involvement workgroup completed Community Involvement in Superfund Risk Assessments, a supplement to the EPA guidance document Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund -- Volume 1, Human Health Evaluation Manual, Part A. The purpose of this supplemental guidance is to provide the site team--risk assessor, remedial project manager (RPM), and community involvement coordinator--with information to improve community involvement in the Superfund risk assessment process.
Additional information on this workgroup and other RAGS workgroups can be found on EPA's home page in the October 1997 and February 1999 (PDF, 2 pp, 52 kb, About PDF) issues of Superfund Today: Focus on Revisions to Superfund's Risk Assessment Guidance.