European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 3, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine americas massive buildup of toxic waste National geographic photo technician scoops up sludge from dump in National geographic into the land it millions of metric tons of it a toxic paint raw materials for carpets and and More All constituting whats come to be known As hazardous its disposed of in deep Wells and threatening americas its injected be tween Rock or illegally sprayed on Ordinary compacted and sent undetected to City Sham recyclers even water Down heating fuel with liquid toxic waste for no one knows the True sum of the nations hazardous but the 264 million metric tons regulated by the environmental Protection Agency in 1981 would fill the new Orleans super dome almost times since americans have disposed of possibly 6 billion tons in or on the writes Allen Boraiko in a comprehensive Roundup of the nations hazardous waste in National by last Epa had designated or pro posed 786 waste Sites for a cleanup but the Agency estimates the list May eventually grow to the congressional office of technology assessment estimated in March that or More dumps will end up on the list at an eventual cleanup Cost of More than the buildup of waste has steadily increased citizens exposure to chemicals that can cause birth de nervous blood diseases and damage to kidneys or hazardous waste can be As Ordinary As the Mercury in an exhausted watch Battery or the butane residue in a disposable cigarette a few drops of Lye in an empty can of oven or the toxic pcs in an old to on a larger a million Gallons of Oil muck laced with pcs once commonly used in Industry were found at the huge hazardous waste dump near Swartz so far tons of waste and contaminated soil from the site have been reburied and the cleanup is not some Progress is under the resource Conser vation and recovery act passed by Congress in some hazardous waste is monitored and the created to clean up some of the nations worst is about to be renewed and May expand to More than environmental groups and chemical companies have formed a nonprofit corporation clean Sites to Aid cleanup of at least 20 dump but vast amounts of toxic waste still go untre for Epa annually exempts an Esti mated 5 million tons of Industrial wastes discharged As Domestic including most of the Meta finishing Industry toxic Metal enforcement of Acra rules and monitoring for groundwater pollution Are spotty at most hazardous waste disposal on 60 percent of major disposal facilities dont obey All the new Laws and regu concedes John director of Pas of fice of solid Many of the waste Sites penetrate or Overlie the natural underground reservoirs that Supply much of the country drinking groundwater is polluted at the majority of superfund Sites Many waste impoundments were actually designed to Leach waste into the waste taints the groundwater serving Homes near the superfund site of stringfellow acid in a Canyon 50 Miles East of los the site still holds most of the 34 million Gallons of toxic metals and Dot sent there Between 1956 and despite million spent to halt pollution has infiltrated an aquifer supplying seven Eastern los Angeles More than Sites have already been ordered closed or restricted to the Public because of severe contamination by toxic including some that Are the considered Likely to is made up of Sites which contaminated water or the Sites Are As diverse As a pizza shop in the municipal water supplies of two Kansas and main Street in chemical which create two thirds of the regulated hazardous Are detoxifying the bulk of their harmful Dupont Mammoth Chambers works in new Jersey scrubs 40 million tons of toxic manufacturing residues a incinerators at Dow chemicals Louisiana division Burn toxic waste to generate steam heat and Cut fuel and 3m Sells a corrosive byproduct of videotape manufacture to fertilizer though incineration reduces the volume and dangers of hazardous Industry in general creates less than 1 percent of its toxic the reason burning waste can be three times More expensive than burying As Boraiko Learned from a criminologist hazardous waste is making some people organized he has been found at every level of the toxic waste disposal Industry in incineration and recycling All Over the for hundreds of legitimate Hazar Dou waste disposal companies must buy permission to operate alongside competitors Allied with or controlled by organized payoffs go to mobsters through a National network of loan the superfund list of dumps continues to far outpacing funds for every land fill poses a future says William who is in charge of superfund some Sites May Cost hundreds of millions each to National geographic photo even Ordinary garbage can be including paint thinners and june 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13