Many of the Superfund sites in the Ohio Valley are old industrial waste landfills, like Distler Farm.
People, Waste, and Water The AP data analysis shows that almost 2 million people live within one mile of the 327 federal Superfund sites in floodplains.
Half of the 16 flood-prone Superfund sites in the Ohio Valley were once waste disposal areas, like Distler Farm and United Scrap Lead Co., Inc. in Troy, Ohio, where lead from a former battery reclamation operation still permeates the soil.
Five of the sites are legacy manufacturing concerns.
Continuing Cleanup Some of the 16 flood-prone Superfund sites in the Ohio Valley have already gone through mitigation and cleanup measures.
As Superfund branch manager for the Kentucky Department of Waste Management, Larry Hughes is one of the officials tasked with making decisions like those for state-managed Superfund sites.
For nearly 30 years, contaminants from this waste seeped into the soil, the groundwater, and the nearby Tennessee River.
BF Goodrich still operates on the site today.
Hughes noted that the risks posed by managed Superfund sites are usually to the ground water, and that these sites wouldn’t pose a significant risk during a flood event.
Super Funding Issues There are 61 Superfund sites on the EPA National Priority List in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, including the 16 located in flood-prone areas.