MINI PROJECT #5: Superfund Site in North Miami Beach, FL

First of all what is a Superfund Site? According to the Environmental Protection Agency a Superfund site is an uncontrolled or abandoned place where hazardous waste is located, possibly affecting local ecosystems or people. These locations become Superfund Sites when they are placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) National Priority List (NPL) based on a high score that rates its current or potential health impact to the environment, community, and those living in or near the area.
It is so scary to find that most of us reside relatively near one of these sites right here in Florida. Upon doing research to locate a Superfund Site in my area, North Miami Beach I found that there is one not too far from home. The Anodyne, Inc. Site is located at 1270 N.W 165th Street in the Sunshine State Industrial Park. This industrial park is located in the middle of a residential, commercial, and industrial district in the northern part of Dade County. It is between the residential areas of bunche Park and Miami Gardens and is It is bordered on the north by the Palmetto Expressway also known as the 826; on the east by Interstate State 95; to the south by U.S. Route 441 (www.epa.gov) some of the most busy highways in the city.
It seems that Anodyne Inc. was one of the "nations foremost producers of metal decorating products". Some of the acitivities that were once carried out there were aluminum anodizing, embossing, lithograph development and printing, silk screening, diamond cutting, and laminating. It seems that when the company was in business they discharged wastes and chemicals via pipes through the building wall directly right onto the ground. There is also another site to the south of the Anodyne Building that is thought to have been used as a diposal site as well.
Due to the urbanization of this area there are very little natural resources or ecologically sensitive areas still existing near this site. According to the Environmental Protection Agency website. This Site does lie right over the Biscayne aquifer, which is a shallow water table aquifer that serves as the sole source of drinking water for Dade and Broward Counties. The aquifer has been Federally designated as a Class I drinking water aquifer under the Clean Water Act and as a Sole Source Aquifer. There is a threat that this site can contaminate r which can affect drinnking water for Dadeand Broward Counties. Immediate Action has been taken and cleanup is in progress. There are definitely precautionary studies in place for example,A pilot study for groundwater remediation has been drafted to conduct treatability of contamination identified in the deep acquifer. This pilot study will be conducted this year 2008.

REFERENCE WEBSITE:
www.epa.gov