Superfund

Superfund is the common name for the federal program created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, which gives the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to clean up hazardous waste sites and hold polluters financially responsible. Sites contaminated with asbestos (including former mines, manufacturing plants, and shipyards) can be placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) for federal cleanup. The program also allows the government to recover cleanup costs from companies that caused the contamination.

Origin

Congress passed CERCLA in December 1980, partly in response to the Love Canal disaster in Niagara Falls, New York, where a residential neighborhood was built on a buried chemical dump. The law established a trust fund, nicknamed the "Superfund," originally financed by taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries to pay for cleanups when responsible parties could not be identified or had gone bankrupt.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Several of the most notorious asbestos contamination sites in the United States are Superfund sites, most famously the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, where tremolite-contaminated ore exposed both workers and the entire town. Other Superfund sites include former asbestos product manufacturing plants, shipyards, and locations where vermiculite from Libby was processed. For patients, Superfund designation matters because it creates an official federal record of contamination, identifies responsible companies, and documents the specific asbestos fibers involved, all of which can support an exposure history in a legal claim. If you, a family member, or a former workplace was near a Superfund site, EPA records may contain valuable evidence about what you were exposed to and when.

Example Sentence

When her lawyer learned that her father had worked at a plant later designated a Superfund site, he was able to pull EPA documents confirming asbestos contamination during the years her father was employed there.

Related Terms

Libby Montana, W.R. Grace, Vermiculite, National Priorities List, Bankruptcy Trust

Notes

• If you or a family member lived or worked near a known asbestos Superfund site, request the EPA's site file and Record of Decision. These documents often name responsible companies and identify the specific asbestos minerals involved.
• The ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) frequently publishes health consultations for Superfund sites; these reports can support a claim by documenting exposure pathways in the surrounding community.
• Residents of Libby, Montana, qualify for special Medicare benefits under the Affordable Care Act's Libby provision. Ask your legal and medical team whether any similar site-specific programs apply to you.
• Tell your attorney about every address where you lived or worked, even briefly; some Superfund sites caused take-home and neighborhood exposures far beyond the fence line.