A lacking tracking system has made it so EPA cannot determine whether contamination is under control at facilities cleaning up hazardous wastes, according to the agency’s internal watchdog.
The Office of Inspector General released a report Tuesday, dated Monday, that found EPA was not using its information systems for monitoring land-use controls at corrective action facilities, a classification under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for sites that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes.
The systems contained illogical data that, in some instances, made it impossible to verify if a control was still in place, the report says.
“The data accuracy issues on land-use controls at contaminated facilities via the RCRA information systems could potentially cause confusion for the public resulting in exposure to harmful contaminants and a lack of public trust,” the report says.
