The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will complete only 24 Superfund cleanups this year, less than a third the agency’s annual average during the Clinton administration. The EPA planned to complete cleanup at 40 Superfund sites, which are most commonly contaminated by asbestos, lead, mercury and radiation. Democratic Rep. John Dingell, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, holds the Bush administration responsible for the slowing pace because of the administration’s efforts to decrease EPA spending. The EPA has been responsible for 1,562 designated Superfund sites sinc 1980. The EPA website reports that cleanups have not been completed at 1,242 of those sites. Under the Clinton administration, an average of 76 Superfund cleanups were completed each year. The Bush administration will average 39 finished cleanups between 2001 and 2007. But the current administration’s cleanup rate does exceed that of the first President Bush, under whom an average of 29.5 cleanups were finished each year from 1989 to 1992.
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