A GIS Overlook of Colorado's Superfund Sites

The Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, also dubbed (CERCLA). This fund was set by the United States Congress to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up contaminated sites that have been deemed hazardous to both people and the environment.

In the United States alone, over thousands of Superfund sites exist due to hazardous waste being improperly managed. Sites like oil refineries, manufacturing facilities, landfills, and ore mines contribute to the issue of Superfund sites. These sites contain contaminants that can cause significant harm to human health so it is imperative to decontaminate and re-purpose. Common contaminants at such sites may include lead, asbestos, radiation, mercury, arsenic, and more.

In Colorado, as of 2021, there are 24 listed active Superfund sites either led by the (EPA) or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Rocky Flats in Golden might arguably be the most well-known Superfund site as it used to host the United States Department of Energy's nuclear plant. The 800-building facility manufactured plutonium, uranium, and americium cores for the military and operated for 37 years. Almost over four decades of manufacturing activities, accidental spills, and waste management practices had contaminated 6,240-acres of soil, sediment, groundwater, and surface water and maintenance is still ongoing.

While most of Colorado's Superfunds are located in remote and sparsely populated areas, a Superfund "supersite" consisting of five separate sites takes over almost all of Denver county. Broderick Wood Products, Chemical Sales Co., Denver Radium Site, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, and Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 are all sites that are still deemed active by the EPA and CDPHE. Vasquez Boulevard and I-70 had just started remediation work in 2017 and is still ongoing. Even though the EPA says these sites are safe, I wanted to know how many people may be affected, with a specific focus on environmental racism. We used a variety of GIS methods in order to look deeper into this Superfund "supersite".

Colorado's population in 2021 is estimated to be 5.7 million with 86.9% of people being White, 21.8% Hispanic, 4.6% Black, 3.5% Asian, and 1.6% American Indian. With such a high percentage of White Coloradans, we wanted to know if Colorado's racial and cultural minorities are disproportionately affected by Superfund sites. The EPA states that "environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies" (2021). Equal access to a healthy, clean environment and protection from health hazards are basic human rights. There may be harsh air pollution, water pollution, or unsafe housing when living within the boundaries of an active Superfund site. It is our duty to keep Coloradan's healthy and safe.

We decided that a four mile boundary would be sufficient to capture nonpoint source pollution from Superfunds. Using ArcMap 10.8.1, we imported Superfund data from the (EPA) and population data from the (CDPHE). ArcMap's geoprocessing helped create the population layer and the four mile buffer zones around Superfund locations. This data lets us see if there are any obvious trends within Colorado and Denver county. We looked at Colorado's total, White, and minority populations to create three maps that feature the entirety of Colorado and North Denver, where the "supersite" is located.

Based on the data and maps created, it is approximated that 100,000 people live within four miles of a Superfund site in Colorado. While this is an aggregate value, as we do not have access to individual household data, this value is a good estimate of how many people at minimum can be affected by Superfund hazards. At first glance, it seems that the racial makeup of people nearby Superfund sites is primarily White. But instead of looking at pure numbers, proportions will make more sense.

2.18% of Colorado's minorities and 1.52% of the White population reside within four miles of a Superfund site. Even though that 0.66% gap seems small, that would be a difference of almost 38,000 people. With this data there is no specific evidence of environmental injustice, but we can use this information to spread awareness, educate the community, and continue working to improve future data for Superfund research.

The Colorado "supersite" contains most of the population in Colorado that resides within Superfund sites. About 70,000 people live in the intersection of the five Superfunds, with a 50/50 split between White and minority populations. With so many people living in the area, I want to know if they're educated on what's in their backyard.

The first person I spoke to was Antonia Whatley. She's a 42 year old Hispanic mother who works as a nurse. She and her family live right in the middle of the five intersecting sites. I asked her if she knew that there are five, active Superfund sites surrounding her home and she told me no. Not knowing what the Superfund is, I gave her a summary of (CERCLA) and summarized my findings for this project. Intrigued, I told her more and we had a quick chat about her minimal environmental education. I wasn't too surprised to find out that many older generations didn't have any environmental courses to take during their higher education.

I spoke to Dan Esquibel next. A 50 year old Hispanic, mechanic who lives in the intersection of the "supersite" also had no idea of their presence. He too had minimal environmental education, especially since he has just a high school diploma. Lastly I talked with George Ellington, a 29 year old Black personal trainer who heard the term once but needed a reexplanation. He also had no idea of the presence of the sites and was interested in learning more, so I redirected him to the EPA's Superfund website before saying goodbye.

Although I was expecting most people I talked with to not know what a Superfund site is, I was still surprised that all three had no education on what exists less than four miles away. Environmental education is the best way to prevent future occurrences of environmental racism and the best way to inform and get people involved in the health of their local communities. Creating involvement about Superfund sites can also speed up the rate of their cleanup and spread more awareness of local sites.