Land contamination can happen if past waste disposal or industrial activities caused pollution. Sometimes land contamination can be dangerous and must be cleaned up and managed the right way.

EPA gives guidance on land and groundwater issues to help businesses manage their risks.

Land and groundwater guidance includes:

• The industry standard for contaminated construction sites. It gives guidance on identifying site contamination and managing risk.
• Guidance on underground petroleum storage systems. This helps makes sure people, property and the environment are protected.

We also:

• keep a Priority Sites Register – a list of sites with clean up or pollution notices about land or groundwater
• work with industry and planning authorities to prevent harm from lead contamination at shooting ranges
• give advice to environmental health experts, including those shutting down illegal drug labs
• give advice about environmental public health risks
• investigate contamination from per-and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS).