EPA working to secure toxic sites as Irma bears down on Florida

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel are working to secure toxic waste across Florida as Hurricane Irma threatens to engulf the state, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

The AP said it surveyed six of the state’s 54 Superfund sites – highly contaminated locations subjected to special federal oversight – and found no apparent work happening to secure the sites before the hurricane’s arrival.

All of the sites surveyed were around Miami in flood-prone areas, according to the AP.

A 2012 EPA study concluded that flooding at the sites in South Florida could spread contaminates and threaten public health. 

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However, the EPA said that if no work was seen going on at a site it should be considered secure, though the agency would monitor the situation. 

The EPA also said that it has evacuated personnel at the sites and secured hazardous materials that could be affected by potential flooding. 

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told the AP that he spoke with EPA personnel about the matter, and that, while they feel “they got a handle on it,” they “can’t guarantee it 100 percent.”

“They think that the risk is real but certainly not as severe as some other places,” Rubio said. “Not to minimize it – it’s something to think about.”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who took office in February, has vowed to prioritize Superfund site cleanup efforts, saying in July that the agency would create a “top-10 list” of Superfund sites that threaten nearby residents. 

The EPA said last week that 13 of the 41 Superfund sites in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey were potentially damaged by the storm.

But Liz Bowman, a spokeswoman for the agency, told the AP that no sites in Hurricane Irma’s path pose an immediate threat to public health or safety, while the EPA is ready to respond if that changes.

“If any site in the path of the storm is found to pose an immediate threat to nearby populations, EPA will immediately alert and work with state and local officials and inform the public – and then take any appropriate steps to address the threat,” Bowman said.

“So far no sites have risen to this level that we are aware of,” she said.