State Cleanup Standards

GAO provided information about 21 states' standards for the cleanup of soil and groundwater at Superfund sites, focusing on: (1) whether states base their standards on estimates of health risks; (2) how the standards compare with corresponding federal standards; and (3) whether the states adjust the standards for site-specific conditions. GAO noted that: (1) 20 of the 21 states with such standards base them, in part, on estimates of human health risks posed by exposure to contaminants; and (2) in general, the states provide more flexibility to adjust, based on site-specific conditions, the cleanup levels derived from soil standards than from groundwater standards.