Arizona Electronic Atlas Learning Module
Natural Resources Theme - Superfund Sites

Intended Audience
The audience targeted by this learning module consists of undergraduate students exploring environmental issues as part of a class assignment.

Goal
To use both the Arizona Electronic Atlas and the EPA Superfund website to obtain information about Superfund sites in Arizona.

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Learning Objectives

1. Be able to describe what a Superfund site is, and obtain a general understanding of the procedures the EPA follows in their identification, assessment and cleanup.

2. Using the Arizona Electronic Atlas, students will be able to locate Superfund sites in a geographic area(s) of interest to them.

3. Students will be able to use the "Zoom In", "Pan", and "Show Data" tools.

4. Students will learn to search the databases at the EPA Superfund website to obtain detailed information about Superfund sites of interest. Information on specific contaminants, cleanup efforts, safety hazards, and the status of a site(s) will be obtained.

Resources/Equipment Needed
PC or MAC computer with one of the following internet browsers:

• Internet Explorer 6 or higher
• Netscape 7 or higher

Steps and Tasks-Just What is a Superfund Site Anyway?

1. Open your browser to http://www.epa.gov/superfund/about.htm and scroll down to Frequently Asked Questions. Click on this link (you will have to do this again on the next page). This FAQ will provide you with a variety of general information about Superfund sites.

Steps and Tasks - Using the Arizona Electronic Atlas to locate Superfund Sites

1. Open the Arizona Electronic Atlas (http://atlas.library.arizona.edu) and select the Make a Map function.

2. Select the Natural Resources Theme

3. When the browser screen opens for Natural Resources, maximize window size and refresh so the map fills the box.

4. Scroll down the folder list on the right side of the screen and put a check box next to EPA Superfund Sites. Click on the Redraw Map button to apply this data layer to the map.

5. You may want to turn the Overview map off.

6. Look at the distribution of Superfund Sites showing on the map (in yellow) and choose an area which you would like to further explore. You can zoom in to the chosen area by clicking on the "Zoom In" tool, then either click on the map or draw a box around the area you want to zoom in to. If your map isn't centered on the screen, you may want to use the "Pan tool" to move the map. Click on the "Pan tool," then click on the screen where you want the map moved to.

7. Once you have zoomed into a specific Superfund site, you can obtain information about that site by clicking on the "Show Data tool" and then click on the yellow dot which represents the Superfund site you are interested in. A screen will pop up which will include information about the data layers (you may have to resize this pop up screen, or at least scroll down it to find the Superfund data). Record the ID number and the Facility name (column titled Facility_N). You may want to repeat this process for other Superfund sites.

Steps and Tasks - Finding in-depth information about specific Superfund sites at the EPA website

NOTE: Since the EPA uses a lot of unfamiliar jargon, you will probably need to look at the Data Element Dictionary http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/ded/index.htm at various points in your search.
1. In order to find about more about Superfund sites, such as the specific contaminants that are located there or current, proposed, or completed cleanup efforts, it is necessary to visit the EPA website.

2. Open the browser to http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/siteinfo.htm. Depending on the status of a Superfund site it may be listed in one of two databases: CERCLIS and ARCHIVED SITES. Read the webpage to understand the difference between archived sites and those on the CERCLIS database.

3. There are various databases that may need to be accessed at this site to obtain a full picture of a given Superfund site.

4. Begin by clicking on the CERCLIS database link. Enter the ID number of the Superfund site under EPA ID. If the site is not found, it may mean that it has been archived. Click on archived sites (on the left hand side of the screen). Reenter your search.
If the site is found on the CERCLIS database, click on the name of the site. You will be brought to a screen that will provide some information about the site, depending on its status. If the site is not on the National Priorities List, you will find limited information here. But if the site is on the National Priorities List, there will be a fact sheet here. Click on this for lots of valuable information.

If the site was found on the archived database, you will find limited information about it. These sites may not be worth pursuing for further study.

5. Some Superfund sites can also be found in the RODS (Record of Decision) database. Using the navigation tool at the top of the screen which looks like this EPA Home > Programs > Superfund > Sites > Superfund Information Systems>, click on Superfund Information Systems. Now click on RODS (left hand side of the page, in blue). Search for your EPA site either by name or EPA number. If your site is contained here, you will be able to download full text pdf files that provide in-depth information about your site.

6. Five Year Reviews- The following Superfund sites have Five Year Reviews which can be found at http://cfpub.epa.gov/fiveyear/

Obtaining Further Information:

Arizona newspapers often run stories about Superfund sites. You can access articles from the Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) the Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) and the Tucson Citizen by going to http://www.library.arizona.edu. Then click on Show All Databases (top right hand corner). Choose NewsBank (America's Newspapers). NOTE: Must be affiliated with the University of Arizona to access these databases.