Superfund Research Articles

The Role of the Super Funds in Allocating Australia's Capital

Australian Economic ReviewVolume 48, Issue 2 p. 203-204 Policy Forum: The Murray Financial System Inquiry The Role of the Super Funds in Allocating Australia's Capital Rodney Maddock, Rodney MaddockSearch for more papers by this author Rodney Maddock, Rodney MaddockSearch for more papers by this author First published: 27 May 2015 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8462.12112Citations: 1 Victoria University, Victoria 8001 Australia; email <rodney.maddock@vu.edu.au>. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume48, Issue2June 2015Pages 203-204 RelatedInformation

Estimation of tributary total phosphorus loads to Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada, using a series of regression equations

Abstract Event-based sampling was conducted from July 2010 to May 2012 at four stations in the watersheds of Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada, with the primary objective of estimating total phosphorus (TP) loads. Eighty-seven 24-hour, level-weighted composite samples were collected during a variety of catchment states (rain, snowmelt, baseflow), and TP concentrations were regressed against flow or precipitation in an attempt to mitigate the considerable loading estimation bias arising from event-scale hysteresis. Annual average TP loads were estimated for 2008 to 2012 and were the highest from the Desjardins Canal (17.4 kg/d to 65.6 kg/d), followed by Red Hill Creek (6.4 kg/d to 25.8 kg/d), Grindstone Creek (3.4 kg/d to 33.4 kg/d), and Indian Creek (3.0 kg/d to 7.9 kg/d). Daily TP loads varied by three orders of magnitude between wet and dry conditions, with storm events driving peak daily loads in the urban watersheds, and spring freshet in the agricultural and wetland influenced watersheds. Areal TP loads were higher from the urban relative to the agricultural watersheds. This study demonstrated that the tributaries did not meet the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan (HH RAP) initial target of 65 kg/d in 2008 to 2011 but did in 2012. Comparison of three loading methods emphasized the vital role of characterizing TP concentrations during high flow events. The higher resolution TP loads generated in this study will assist the HH RAP in forming additional remedial actions in the watersheds for delisting the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern.

Pro Rata or Pro Tanto? Why Equity Dictates the Choice Is Not a “Toss Up” in Private Party CERCLA Settlements

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is extremely complicated. Adding to this complexity is the near impossible task of predicting how settlements will be credited. In most tort cases, courts use the pro tanto approach and give the remaining defendants a dollar-for-dollar credit for settlement amounts received by the plaintiff. However, the trend in CERCLA cases is to forego the pro tanto approach and give the remaining defendants credit for the settling defendants’ proportional, or pro rata, share of the liability. This article examines the two approaches and posits which one is more aligned with the spirit of CERCLA.

Critical Subset Allocation: A Framework for Complex Remedial Sites

Critical subset allocation (CSA) is a methodology for allocating remediation costs at sites where multiple contaminants contribute to the exceedance of multiple regulatory risk standards. The basic unit of allocation in CSA is the critical subset, which is a subset of potentially responsible parties (PRPs) that meets two criteria: 1) the risks associated with the subset exceed at least one regulatory risk standard; and 2) at least one of the PRPs in the subset is individually necessary for the first criterion to be true. Each PRP is assigned an allocation score equal to the number of critical subsets for which that PRP is an individually necessary member. The allocation share of a PRP is equal to its allocation score divided by the sum of all PRP allocation scores.

Proactive Evaluation of PRP Status at Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites

Two keys to avoiding potentially responsible party (PRP) status at future Superfund sites are to manage all waste with appropriate care and to perform appropriate inquiries into the history of new properties prior to acquisition. However, corporations can become PRPs because of their ownership and/or operation of historically contaminated property, their historical waste management practices, or their historical disposal of hazardous substances at nonowned disposal sites, such as landfills. This article describes a method by which insurance companies, waste producers, and property owners can proactively evaluate their potential liability associated with environmental response action costs at contaminated sites.

A real time method of contaminant classification using conventional water quality sensors

Early warning systems are often used to detect deliberate and accidental contamination events in a water source. After contamination detection, it is important to classify the type of contaminant quickly to provide support for implementation of remediation attempts. Conventional methods commonly rely on laboratory-based analysis or qualitative geometry analysis, which require long analysis time or suffer low true positive rate. This paper proposes a real time contaminant classification method, which discriminates contaminants based on quantitative analysis. The proposed method utilizes the Mahalanobis distance of feature vectors to classify the type of contaminant. The performance and robustness of the proposed method were evaluated using data from contaminant injection experiments and through an uncertainty analysis. An advantage of the proposed method is that it can classify the type of contaminant in minutes with no significant compromise on true positive rate. This will facilitate fast remediation response to contamination events in a water system.

Superfund: Conscripting Industry Support for Environmental Cleanup

The Superfund is notable in its attempt to charge the costs of environmental damage to those commercial interests that contributed to the damage. The approach should appeal to the Reagan administration's fiscal austerity program. It realizes the attendant costs to the benefits of our technologically productive society and recognizes that those costs must be paid either as environmental precautions or as cleanup costs, property damage, and disease. This article examines the major problems addressed by Superfund, describing the major provisions of the Act, discussing previously available remedies, and considering some of the problems that may arise with implementation. 126 references.

Cities and Superfund: Encouraging Brownfield Redevelopment

Cities and Superfund: Encouraging Brownfield Redevelopment

Settling the Tradeoffs between Voluntary Cleanup of Contaminated Sites and Cooperation with the Government under CERCLA

Settling the Tradeoffs between Voluntary Cleanup of Contaminated Sites and Cooperation with the Government under CERCLA

A membrane-bound eIF2 alpha kinase located in endosomes is regulated by heme and controls differentiation and ROS levels in Trypanosoma cruzi.

Translation initiation has been described as a key step for the control of growth and differentiation of several protozoan parasites in response to environmental changes. This occurs by the activation of protein kinases that phosphorylate the alpha subunit of the translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2α), which decreases translation, and in higher eukaryotes favors the expression of stress remedial response genes. However, very little is known about the signals that activate eIF2α kinases in protozoan parasites. Here, we characterized an eIF2α kinase of Trypanosoma cruzi (TcK2), the agent of Chagas’ disease, as a transmembrane protein located in organelles that accumulate nutrients in proliferating parasite forms. We found that heme binds specifically to the catalytic domain of the kinase, inhibiting its activity. In the absence of heme, TcK2 is activated, arresting cell growth and inducing differentiation of proliferative into infective and non-proliferative forms. Parasites lacking TcK2 lose this differentiation capacity and heme is not stored in reserve organelles, remaining in the cytosol. TcK2 null cells display growth deficiencies, accumulating hydrogen peroxide that drives the generation of reactive oxygen species. The augmented level of hydrogen peroxide occurs as a consequence of increased superoxide dismutase activity and decreased peroxide activity. These phenotypes could be reverted by the re-expression of the wild type but not of a TcK2 dead mutant. These findings indicate that heme is a key factor for the growth control and differentiation through regulation of an unusual type of eIF2α kinase in T. cruzi.

The Private Causes of Action under CERCLA: Navigating the Intersection of Sections 107(a) and 113(f)

The Comprehensive Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) provides three distinct “private” causes of action that allow parties to recover all or part of their cleanup costs from “potentially responsible parties.” Section 107(a)(4)(B) provides a “direct” right of cost recovery. Sections 113(f)(1) and 113(f)(3)(B) provide a right of contribution following a CERCLA civil action or certain judicial or administrative settlements. The relationship among these causes of action has been the source of considerable confusion. Two Supreme Court cases, Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc. and United States v. Atlantic Research Corp. have identified certain situations in which the causes of action exclusively apply, but the Court has left considerable confusion about the appropriate cause or causes of action in a number of other common situations. These include situations in which costs are directly incurred as an obligation under an administrative settlement or following a CERCLA civil action. This Article provides a rational approach to allocating rights of cost recovery among sections 107(a), 113(f)(1), and 113(f)(3)(B) that is consistent both with the language of CERCLA and the Supreme Court’s analysis in Cooper and Atlantic Research. First, the Article evaluates the rather unsatisfying rationales asserted by the U.S. courts of appeals for determining whether the causes of action under 107(a) and 113(f) are mutually exclusive. The Article suggests that the proper resolution focuses on whether there is textual overlap among the sections. Quite simply, in the event of textual overlap, standard canons of construction and the express text of section 113(f)(3)(B), not discussed by any of the courts of appeals, suggest that 113(f) provides the exclusive cause of action for cost recovery under CERCLA. Second, the Article evaluates the textual scope of the causes of action and whether costs incurred in a variety of common situations thus fall within the scope of 107(a)(4)(B) or 113(f). Both the specific text and the Supreme Court’s approach, particularly its focus on the “traditional” meaning of contribution, can help resolve these issues. The result of this analysis is a straightforward application of the statute that results in a consistent and coherent structure to CERCLA that both provides incentives for cleanup and helps ensure that the polluter pays.

Transboundary water management: lessons learnt from North America

This article examines the history of the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty (BWT), as well as the evolution of the IJC from considerations of water allocations predominantly to an ecosystem approach via the International Watershed Initiative. It also explores how environmental factors led to the formation of new institutional arrangements such as the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) of 1972 and further explains how the ecosystem approach was applied and remedial action plans were developed and implemented to deal with pollution issues in the Great Lakes. The article looks at innovations in cooperation and concludes with lessons that can be learnt from the IJC.

Wetland Habitat Assessments at the Rochester Embayment Area of Concern on the South Shore of Lake Ontario, USA

Wetlands in urban areas along Lake Ontario have been subject to various forms of degradation. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) of 1972 between the United States and Canada was initiated to address the degradation of the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Great Lakes. The GLWQA of 1987 (Annex 2) identified locations that have serious contamination and other degradation issues to a greater degree than the rest of the Great Lakes basin, and designated these locations as Areas of Concern (AOCs). AOCs are assessed through preparation of remedial action plans (RAPs) to determine which of 14 “beneficial uses” related to human and intrinsic values of the ecological system remain impaired, and to identify actions that will restore beneficial uses.

Comparing the Adoption of Contaminated Land Remediation Technologies in the United States, United Kingdom, and China

In many locations across the world, land contamination poses a serious threat to human health and the wider environment. For instance, a report published on April 17, 2014, revealed that China now has 16.1 percent of its land contaminated by various organic and inorganic contaminants, posing a range of challenges from human health risk to food security. The innovation and adoption of suitable remediation technologies is critical for solving land contamination issues. However, little is known about the pattern of remediation technology adoption, as well as its determining factors. This study uses a questionnaire survey in the United States, United Kingdom, and China to examine the spatial variation of remediation technology adoption. It further explores the temporal trend of remediation technology adoption using secondary data from the U.S. Superfund program. The study identified significant differences in remediation technology adoption among these countries, which are attributed to the different environmental, social, economic, and regulatory contexts. It is argued that the full implications of remediation technology adoption to sustainable development should be further studied, and policy instruments should be designed accordingly to promote those remediation technologies that align the best with long‐term sustainability. Technology developers may also use these implications to adjust their research and development priorities. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Displacement: A Socio-Economic Rights Perspective

Development projects have often led to adverse effects in the form of displacement of people from their original place of habitation due to large-scale land acquisition. Despite serious efforts by the state and non-state actors, development-induced displacement in the country has resulted in severe economic, social, and environmental problems to the displaced people. In a developing country like India, ignoring the affected people, largely underprivileged and illiterate, plays havoc. A late realization by the stakeholders leaves no scope for overhauling of the already executed project. This research paper, referring to a case of the Gopalpur project of the Tata Steel Ltd. in Odisha, analysed pre- and post-displacement conditions of the project-affected people. The research objectives of the study are: to assess people's mindsets about the possible changed lifestyle in post-displacement period to see if the displacement is instrumental in changing the profession of people to study the impact of such displacement-related issues on nearby township to study the role of state and non-state actors in the entire process to suggest a remedial action plan to minimize the anomalies, if witnessed. For the purpose of this study, a total of 1,555 Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&amp;R) families were surveyed to examine their socio-economic rights status. The research construct was based on eight variables — work, earning, animal husbandry, health, education, public participation, spirituality, and infrastructure. The findings obtained on some of the variables like work, earning and animal husbandry showed a decline. The plant could not come up in the acquired land which pushed them to adopt new avocations like construction work in place of their original cultivation work. Other variables like health, education, and infrastructure showed a positive trend. The variables like spirituality and public participation reflected very low significance in the study. Illiteracy of the respondents and the controversial nature of the subject acted as limitations for a broader study. The study suggested the need for revival of the traditional ‘Kewra’ plantation which was an effective additional earning support for the people in the locality before displacement. Development of local self-sustaining groups and smaller cottage industries based on locally available raw materials were also viewed as other options for revival.

Bench-scale biodegradation tests to assess natural attenuation potential of 1,4-dioxane at three sites in California.

1,4-Dioxane (dioxane) is relatively recalcitrant to biodegradation, and its physicochemical properties preclude effective removal from contaminated groundwater by volatilization or adsorption. Through this microcosm study, we assessed the biodegradation potential of dioxane for three sites in California. Groundwater and sediment samples were collected at various locations at each site, including the presumed source zone, middle and leading edge of the plume. A total of 16 monitoring wells were sampled to prepare the microcosms. Biodegradation of dioxane was observed in 12 of 16 microcosms mimicking natural attenuation within 28 weeks. Rates varied from as high as 3,449 ± 459 µg/L/week in source-zone microcosms to a low of 0.3 ± 0.1 µg/L/week in microcosms with trace level of dioxane (<10 µg/L as initial concentration). The microcosms were spiked with (14)C-labeled dioxane to assess the fate of dioxane. Biological oxidizer-liquid scintillation analysis of bound residue infers that 14C-dioxane was assimilated into cell material only in microcosms exhibiting significant dioxane biodegradation. Mineralization was also observed per (14)CO2 recovery (up to 44% of the amount degraded in 28 weeks of incubation). Degradation and mineralization activity significantly decreased with increasing distance from the contaminant source area (p < 0.05), possibly due to less acclimation. Furthermore, both respiked and repeated microcosms prepared with source-zone samples from Site 1 confirmed relatively rapid dioxane degradation (i.e., 100 % removal by 20 weeks). These results show that indigenous microorganisms capable of degrading dioxane are present at these three sites, and suggest that monitored natural attenuation should be considered as a remedial response.

Modeling the Diffusion of Contaminated Site Remediation Technologies

The present study developed epidemic models to predict the diffusion of remediation technology. Hypotheses were derived from the models and then tested using data collected from a questionnaire survey (n = 223) and a qualitative interview (n = 28) mainly conducted in the USA, UK, and China, as well as data from the US Superfund program. Hypothesis testing results indicate that: (1) tacit knowledge in innovative remedial technologies leads to logistic rather than exponential growth in their adoption, and (2) social-economic and regulatory factors affect the adoption of remediation technologies. For specific remedial technologies adopted in the US Superfund program, it was found that in-situ bioremediation (ISB) has a higher maximum adoption rate than in-situ chemical treatment (ISC), likely due to lower cost and higher social acceptance associated with ISB. The diffusion of ISC was found to be more rapid than that of ISB due to a greater degree of tacit knowledge associated with ISB.

Federal environmental and occupational toxicology regulations and reporting requirements: a practical approach to what the medical toxicologist needs to know, part 2.

Toxicologists are often called upon to assist in environmental, industrial, occupational and public health assessments. Accordingly, medical toxicologists may find it prudent to be aware of applicable federal toxicological regulations and reporting requirements and of the roles of relevant federal agencies. These regulations are numerous, complex, and have evolved and expanded over time, making it difficult for toxicologists to sustain a current knowledge base. This article reviews the pertinent federal toxicological reporting requirements with regards to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Department of Transportation, and information about the National Response Center. We reference internet-based government resources and offer direct links to applicable websites in an attempt to offer rapid and current sources of practical information. The format of the article is a series of hypothetical scenarios followed by commentary. Discussions of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act are beyond the scope of this paper. For those desiring a more in depth discussion of the relevant federal environmental laws and statutes, and applicable case law, the reader is directed to resources such as the Environmental Law Handbook, the websites of individual laws found at www.epa.gov and the decisions of individual courts of appeal. It is our hope that this article provides not only useful practical information for the practicing toxicologist, but also serves as a key reference for Medical Toxicology core content on environmental laws and regulations.

Federal Environmental and Occupational Toxicology Regulations and Reporting Requirements: A Practical Approach to What the Medical Toxicologist Needs to Know, Part 1

Toxicologists are often called upon to assist in environmental, industrial, occupational and public health assessments. Accordingly, medical toxicologists may find it prudent to be aware of applicable federal toxicological regulations and reporting requirements and of the roles of relevant federal agencies. These regulations are numerous, complex, and have evolved and expanded over time, making it difficult for toxicologists to sustain a current knowledge base. This article reviews the pertinent federal toxicological reporting requirements with regard to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Department of Transportation, and information about the National Response Center. We reference internet-based government resources and offer direct links to applicable websites in an attempt to offer rapid and current sources of practical information. The format of the article is a series of hypothetical scenarios followed by commentary. Discussions of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act are beyond the scope of this paper. For those desiring a more in-depth discussion of the relevant federal environmental laws and statutes and applicable case law, the reader is directed to resources such as the Environmental Law Handbook, the websites of individual laws found at www.epa.gov and the decisions of individual courts of appeal. It is our hope that this article provides not only useful practical information for the practicing toxicologist but also serves as a key reference for medical toxicology core content on environmental laws and regulations.

Social media in the health-care setting: benefits but also a minefield of compliance and other legal issues.

Throughout the past 20 years, the rising use of social media has revolutionized health care as well as other businesses. It allows large groups of people to create and share information, ideas, and experiences through online communications, and develop social and professional contacts easily and inexpensively. Our Gastroenterology organizations, among others, have embraced this technology. Although the health-care benefits may be many, social media must be viewed through a legal lens, recognizing the accompanying burdens of compliance, ethical, and litigation issues. Theories of liability and risk continue to evolve as does the technology. Social media usage within the medical community is fraught with potential legal issues, requiring remedial responses to meet patients' needs and comply with current laws, while not exposing physicians to medical malpractice and other tort risks.