AP Exclusive: Toxic sites in likely path of Irma
The Associated Press surveyed six of the 54 Superfund sites in
At the
"
AP was not able to fully evaluate each site's readiness for the hurricane.
"If any site in the path of the storm is found to pose an immediate threat to nearby populations,
A risk analysis by
"The agency needs to quickly respond with careful monitoring after the storm," said Southerland.
A recent analysis for the Government Accountability Office by two researchers at
Of particular concern was the one-acre Miami Drum Services site. It is located over a drinking-water aquifer in a heavily industrial area of
The
At the Homestead Air Reserve Base Superfund site south of
The
"These residents need to be aware of their surroundings, and what could be in their water and the floodwater," said Sweeney, now a private consultant. "There needs to be some sort of public communication. Either mass distribution of information or evacuating residents — it's up to the agency to make that call."
At the Anodyne site in
A worker from a nearby building, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said he saw workers putting soil and water into the drums. Soil and groundwater at the former industrial site was contaminated with a brew of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, solvents and heavy metals.
After AP inquired about the drums, the
The
Hours after AP's story last week, the
Since then,
Following his appointment by Trump,
Pruitt, who has questioned the severity of consequences from global warming, has been largely silent on the threat posed to Superfund sites by rising seas and more powerful storms.
A nationwide climate change adaptation assessment conducted by
"There's a sharp contrast between the recommendations left behind for the Pruitt
The
"To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm; versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced," Pruitt said Thursday. "What we need to focus on is access to clean water, addressing these areas of superfund activities that may cause an attack on water, these issues of access to fuel.... Those are things so important to citizens of
Biesecker reported from
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