Of all environmental programs in the United States, the Superfund program is perhaps the
most controversial. Under the program, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
responsible for plac ing the most serious hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities
List (NPL), for assessing the risks posed by the sites, and for selecting the most appropriate
cleanup option for each site. By law, EPA is to choose a cleanup strategy that protects the
health of people living near each site, regardless of cost. In practice, EPA has interpreted …