Dive Brief:

• The EPA has formed an agreement with the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii. The contract covers additional clean-up at the Waipahu Ash landfill on the island of Oahu.
• The site is being re-evaluated in regard to environmental and health risks, and will continue to be monitored over the next few years.
• The work includes assessing contamination and ascertaining if the site has any public health or environmental issues. The City will also look into additional solutions to help move the clean-up forward, and will measure the amount of ash remaining on site and install monitoring wells to check the groundwater for residue from the landfill.

Dive Insight:

The first segment of the clean-up was finished in the fall of 2011. The landfill accepted ash from the municipal incinerator from 1972 until it closed in 1991, according to the Hawaii Reporter. The EPA settled with those responsible for around $1.2 billion; the funds were used for Superfund site studies and cleanups across the United States.