Certified Safety Professional Practice Exam 2025 - Free Practice Questions and Study Guide.

The Superfund Program, as established by the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act of 1986, aimed primarily to enhance the focus on human health problems associated with hazardous waste sites. The legislation was created in response to increasing public concern about toxic waste sites and their impact on health and the environment. The amendments recognized that hazardous waste sites could pose significant risks to human health, particularly in terms of contamination of air, water, and soil.

One of the significant contributions of the 1986 amendments was the emphasis on the importance of human health assessments in the cleanup process, which involved evaluating the potential exposure of individuals to hazardous substances and the necessity of remediating contaminated areas to protect public health. This additional focus also led to the development of more specific guidelines for assessing health risks and ensuring that cleanup efforts addressed those risks effectively.

The program sought not only to clean up contaminated sites but also to ensure that public health was a primary consideration in all stages of the process, including site assessment, cleanup, and long-term monitoring. Thus, by enhancing the focus on human health, the Superfund Program played a critical role in protecting individuals and communities from the effects of hazardous waste.