I want to share with you that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule, “Addition of a Subsurface Intrusion Component to the Hazard Ranking System” in the Federal Register today (
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/02/29/2016-02749/addition-of-a-subsurface-intrusion-component-to-the-hazard-ranking-system).
The Hazard Ranking System (HRS) is a scoring system EPA uses to identify hazardous waste sites eligible to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL).
Subsurface intrusion (SsI) is the migration of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants from contaminated groundwater or soil into an overlying building. SsI can result in people being exposed to harmful levels of hazardous substances, which may be amplified or increased by extended time spent in buildings where SsI occurs. This can raise the lifetime risk of cancer or chronic disease. In an effort to ensure SsI contamination is consistently evaluated, EPA is proposing to add an HRS component allowing EPA to evaluate threats posed by SsI.
There is a 60-day public comment period for the proposed rule that ends on April 29, 2016. Please visit www.regulations.gov to view instructions for submitting comments.
For further information and frequently asked questions about this proposed HRS SsI addition, see http://www.epa.gov/superfund/hrs-subsurface-intrusion.
Suzanne Wells
Chief, Community Involvement and Program Initiatives Branch
Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
(703) 603-8863
(703) 603-9112 (fax)
USEPA/William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building (MC 5204P)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460