What are Superfund Sites? LESSON

by Dynamic Earth Learning

Price: 500 points or $5 USD

Subjects: humanImpactsOnEarthSystems,naturalHazards,naturalResources,developingPossibleSolutions,ecology,science

Grades: 5,6,7,8,9

Description: Embedded video lesson on first slide! Then students answer 30 questions. Superfund sites are areas with hazardous materials, often resulting from abandoned processing plants, mining sites, manufacturing plants, and landfills. This lesson explains the criteria for inclusion on the National Priorities List (NPL) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of the NPL is to prioritize cleanup efforts at these sites based on their potential threat to human health and the environment. The lesson describes the cleanup process under Superfund, including remediation efforts and the goal of reducing contamination to protect health and the environment. It also highlights examples of superfund sites and common contaminants found at these sites, such as heavy metals, PCBs, VOCs, pesticides, asbestos, and radioactive materials. The lesson explains the funding of superfund cleanup through a combination of responsible parties and the federal government. It emphasizes the environmental and health risks associated with superfund sites and the challenges in completing the cleanup of these toxic areas.