Want to be able to access information on any RCRA “Corrective Action” (cleanup) in any community in the U.S.?  The easiest way is to go through the EPA dataset. This week, you’ll be using this tool and choosing a site as an example to discuss the RCRA process in action:

1) Go to https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/cleanups-my-community (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

2) On this EPA page, scroll down until you see the US map, and click on any state. You should get a map of hazardous waste cleanup sites. Current RCRA Corrective Actions (active RCRA cleanups) appear as green squares.

3) Click on a green square. When the name and address of the company appears, click on the blue hyperlinked text RCRA Corrective Action Profile  This gives you access to site cleanup information for any site on the map. 

4) On the new Corrective Action Profile page, read through the chart, click the more info links, and see what information you can ascertain about what happened, how it happened, and what cleanup was performed. Remember, this is the public information site for community members and others to be able to get public information about cleanup progress and risks at the location.

For your discussion post: Choose a location in a state of your choice and follow the steps above. Provide the location site name and a summary of the information you were able to learn in the profile page and connected links.  What was the contamination and are human exposures and/or groundwater contaminations under control? How long did the cleanup process take (or is it still going on)? What were the cleanup measures used?

Also include your impressions of the website as a community user – was it easy to find the information you were looking for? Do you think this adequately provides information about RCRA corrective actions to the community? Would you use this site in any professional or personal capacity?  What information were you unable to find that you really wanted to know? What could be improved to make the information more user-friendly, reliable, and/or easy to understand?