Readme.txt Updated April 2007 The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) database maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency contains general information on sites across the nation and U.S. territories including location, status, contaminants and actions taken. The data is updated monthly. The database includes potential and confirmed hazardous waste sites at which the EPA Superfund Program has some involvement. It contains sites that are either proposed to be or are on the National Priorities List (NPL) as well as sites that are in the screening and assessment phase for possible inclusion on the NPL. The data is searchable by site name, state, ZIP Code, county, type of site, remedial activities, and more. If you are looking for a specific site and cannot find it in the current CERCLIS database it may be on the list of archived sites. The Archive designation means that, to the best of EPA's knowledge, assessment at a site has been completed and that EPA has determined no further steps will be taken to list this site on the National Priorities List (NPL). This decision does not necessarily mean that there is no hazard associated with a given site; it only means that, based upon available information, the location is not judged to be a potential NPL site. Cerclis provided a record layout as a pdf file. NICAR also requested an excel file that details which reference tables can be used to decipher the codes in the main tables. A second tab in the same excel file will describe what each table and lookup table contains. These should prove useful. In addition to this readme file and the excel file, the following files are included on this CD or with this download: MAIN TABLES: Please note: there are two sets of main tables in the CERCLIS database. One set contains archived site information; the other set contains current site information. Refer to the respective folders (archived or current) to find the tables, record layouts, and lookups you are searching for: SITE.dbf - Hazardous waste sites and potentially hazardous waste sites being assessed by the EPA Superfund program. This is the main CERCLIS table. Each site is listed in this table with a unique identifier found in the site_id field. Use this identifier to link to the remaining CERCLIS tables to find additional information about each site. Note: there is a Nicar created date field. ARCHIVED SITE.dbf - 34,429 records CURRENT SITE.dbf - 12,426 records ACTION.dbf - Officially approved actions and subactions recorded at hazardous waste sites and potentially hazardous waste sites being assessed by the EPA Superfund program. ARCHIVED ACTION.dbf - 113,392 records CURRENT ACTION.dbf - 111,210 records BRAC.dbf - New in 2007. Site Base Realignment Closure Types ARCHIVED BRAC.dbf - 23 records CURRENT BRAC.dbf - 107 records CM_SITE.dbf - Comment Site - Descriptions of sites or incidents. ARCHIVED CM_SITE.dbf - 9,479 records CURRENT CM_SITE.dbf - 11,013 records CONS_CNT.dbf - New in 2007. Constituent Contaminant Risk Assessment. ARCHIVED CONS_CNT.dbf - 14,784 records CURRENT CONS_CNT.dbf - 119,231 records CONTACT.dbf - Contact information of a person associated with a site. ARCHIVED CONTACT.dbf - 45,946 records CURRENT CONTACT.dbf - 21,070 records CSIT_AL.dbf - Comment Site Alias - Comments on alternative names or addresses for Superfund sites. ARCHVIED CSIT_AL.dbf - 1,958 records CURRENT CSIT_AL.dbf - 1,727 records Ei_clnup.dbf - new in 2007. Contains incremental volumetric data in standard and non standard units for contaminated media that has been treated or contained. ARCHIVED Ei_clnup.dbf - 3,210 records CURRENT Ei_clnup.dbf - 8,355 records FED_REG.dbf - Federal Register - Data on changes in site NPL status as published in the Federal Register. ARCHIVED FED_REG.dbf - 64 records CURRENT FED_REG.dbf - 3,675 records FIN_TRA.dbf - Financial Transaction - Data on financial transactions associated with official actions at Superfund sites. ARCHIVED FIN_TRA.dbf - 31,330 records CURRENT FIN_TRA.dbf - 658,126 records OP_UNIT.dbf - Operable Unit - Data on operable units, portions of Superfund sites with which actions are associated. ARCHIVED OP_UNIT.dbf - 34,675 records CURRENT OP_UNIT.dbf - 17,494 records PERSON.dbf - new in 2007. Contact information for persons associated with Superfund sites. ARCHIVED PERSON.dbf - 1,197 records CURRENT PERSON.dbf - 1,185 records POINT.dbf - The latitude and longitude records. Use the NICAR created longitude and latitude fields for mapping. ARCHIVED POINT.dbf - 31 records CURRENT POINT.dbf - 1,674 records RMD_RESP.dbf - New in 2007. Remedial Response. ARCHIVED RMD_RESP.dbf - 239 records CURRENT RMD_RESP.dbf - 41,931 records RMV_RESP.dbf - New in 2007. Removal Response. ARCHIVED RMV_RESP.dbf - 9,249 records CURRENT RMV_RESP.dbf - 17,081 records SIT_PROG.dbf - New in 2007. Data on special projects or categories under which Superfund sites may be tracked. ARCHIVED SIT_PROG.dbf - 8,009 records CURRENT SIT_PROG.dbf - 11,312 records SIT_SUBC.dbf - New in 2007. Table holding the selected site type subcategories for a specific site. ARCHIVED SIT_SUBC.dbf - 742 records CURRENT SIT_SUBC.dbf - 5,515 records SIT_TYPC.dbf - New in 2007. Table holding the selected main site types selected for a specific site. ARCHIVED SIT_TYPC.dbf - 766 records CURRENT SIT_TYPC.dbf - 5,153 records SITE_ALI.dbf - Site Alias - Alternative names or addresses attached to Superfund sites or incidents. ARCHVIED SITE_ALI.dbf - 20,445 records CURRENT SITE_ALI.dbf - 14,313 records WA_SRC.dbf - Waste source or media contaminated by hazardous waste and the progress made towards removal or cleanup of the hazardous waste at the site. ARCHIVED WA_SRC.dbf - 6,661 records CURRENT WA_SRC.dbf - 32,398 records OTHER TABLES: Please note that unlike the above tables listed, there are not archive and current versions of the following two tables: LIST10.dbf - The List 10 contains contaminants recorded for Superfund sites, including the contaminant Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number and maximum concentration level. Affected media and the cleanup action(s) associated with the contaminant are also included, as well as basic information for the affected sites. LIST10.dbf - 102,439 records LIST11.dbf - The List 11 contains responsible parties at Superfund sites that have received Special or General Notice letters from the EPA. It displays the party name and address, and data on selected enforcement actions, if present, at the associated sites, as well as basic information for each site. LIST11.dbf - 109,500 records LIST9.dbf - This table is new to the database, and not to confused with the main archive table. It does offer more information about some of the archived sites, but is not comprehensive. LIST8.dbf - This table is new to the database, and not to confused with the main current table. It does offer more information about some of the archived sites, but is not comprehensive. LOOKUP TABLES: Refer to record layouts for the above tables to determine which lookup tables correspond to fields in the main CERCLIS data. (There will also be two sets of these lookup tables. One set will be found within the ARCHIVED folder, and the other will be found within the CURRENT folder.) RACT_ANO.dbf - Reference table for types of SCAP accomplishment reporting anomaliies, such as phased project, taken over, action resulting from takeover, or other. RACT_CRI.dbf - Reference table for levels of urgency of official actions. RACT_LEA.dbf - Reference table for organizations with primary responsibility for official actions. RACT_QUA.dbf - Reference table for priority levels or recommendations of further action at a site or an action that is assigned as a result of the action. RACT_TYP.dbf - Reference table for CERCLIS/WasteLAN actions. An action is a specific response, non-response (generic), support, enforcement (e.g., response negotiations, settlement actions, litigation), or non-site specific response or support action within the Superfund program. Includes milestones that occur during the period in which an action is performed. RCMT_SIT.dbf - Reference table for types of descriptions of a site or incident. RFED_FAC.dbf - Reference table for types of changes in site NPL status as published in the Federal Register. RFED_RGS.dbf - Reference table for federal facility status for Superfund sites. RFIN_TYP.dbf - Reference table for types of financial transactions that apply to actions. RHAZ_SUB.dbf - New in 2007. Reference table for contaminants. Includes field "Rhs_seq_id" which can be linked to the cons_cnt table. RNON_NPL.dbf - Reference table for pipeline statuses of non-National Priorities List sites. RNPL_STA.dbf - Reference table for types of National Priorities List status of Superfund sites. ROWN_TYP.dbf - Reference table for types of ownership/operator status of Superfund sites. RPLA_STA.dbf - Reference table for statuses of official actions as targeted items for the purpose of meeting a Strategic Planning and Management System (SPMS) target. RREGION.dbf - Reference table for EPA Regions. RSIT_CAT.dbf - Reference table for general classifications of types of sites or incidents. RSIT_TYP.dbf - Reference table for identifying whether or not oil spill incidents require a removal action at a site. Removal actions are classified as requiring a removal of an oil spill or a non-oil spill. RSTATE.dbf - Reference table for codes identifying states or territories in the United States. Codes match those of the U.S. Postal Service, with a few exceptions. RECORD LAYOUTS: Record layout file names correspond with names of main data tables as well as lookup tables. (There will also be two sets of these record layouts. One set will be found within the ARCHIVED folder, and the other will be found within the CURRENT folder.) ACTION.XLS CM_SITE.XLS CONTACT.XLS CSIT_AL.XLS FED_REG.XLS FIN_TRA.XLS OP_UNIT.XLS POINT.XLS SITE.XLS SITE_ALI.XLS WA_SRC.XLS RACT_ANO.XLS RACT_CRI.XLS RACT_LEA.XLS RACT_QUA.XLS RACT_TYP.XLS RCMT_SIT.XLS RFED_FAC.XLS RFED_RGS.XLS RFIN_TYP.XLS RNON_NPL.XLS RNPL_STA.XLS ROWN_TYP.XLS RPLA_STA.XLS RREGION.XLS RSIT_CAT.XLS RSIT_TYP.XLS RSTATE.XLS WA_SRC.XLS LIST10.xls (Please note, there is only one copy of this record layout because there is only one LIST10 table, not a version for current and a version for archive.) LIST11.xls (Please note, there is only one copy of this record layout because there is only one LIST11 table, not a version for current and a version for archive.) As is often the case, the CERCLIS dataset contains a number of errors and oddities, possibly resulting from typos, misclassifications, or other mistakes in data entry. Among them are: CM_SITE.dbf: All csite_seq entries are unique except 3 records where csite_seq=1, but they have different site_id entries. SITE.dbf: New Mexico is listed in 2 regions: 06 & 09 Utah is listed in 2 regions: 08 & 09 WA_SRC: several site Id's are not not in Site.dbf, where they are supposed to be. More about the Superfund program from the EPA: Superfund is a program administered by the EPA to locate, investigate, and clean up the worst hazardous waste sites throughout the United States. Before Superfund, Americans were less aware of how dumping chemical wastes might affect public health and the environment. Hazardous wastes were often left in the open, where they seeped into the ground, flowed into rivers and lakes, and contaminated soil and groundwater. Consequently, where these practices were intensive or continuous, there were uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites. These sites include abandoned warehouses, manufacturing facilities, processing plants, and landfills. Citizen concern about the extent of this problem prompted Congress in 1980 to establish the Superfund Program to eliminate the health and environmental threats posed by hazardous waste sites. EPA administers the Superfund program in cooperation with individual states and tribal governments. You may use the Superfund Query to retrieve Superfund data from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) database in Envirofacts. You can search for any combination of facility name and geographic location as well as information on related laws and regulations. For more information on the Superfund program, go to www.epa.gov/superfund/. For more information on CERCLIS, go to www.epa.gov/enviro/html/cerclis/cerclis_subj.html.