GAO Recommends EPA Use Vapor Intrusion Pathway for Listing Superfund Sites

The Government Accountability office issued a report on the Superfund program in May that recommended   that vapor intrusion should be considered when ranking sites for the federal superfund list which is formally known as the National Priorities List or NPL.

According  to the report, 60 sites currently on NPL may pose potential for VI. Based on current data, an additional 37 sites would be eligible for listing based on VI. 13 sites are being addressed as part of EPA removal actions. An undetermined number of construction complete sites may pose risk of VI.

In response, EPA staff have indicated that they are considering revising the Hazardous Ranking System that is used to score sites for the NPL. Currently, the pathway is not evaluated and contaminated groundwater that is used for drinking water remains the most important factor for scoring sites.

The complete report is available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10380.pdf