Click map to see Pennsylvania's Superfund sites.
Hazardous waste sites in Great Lakes states make up a third of the nation’s total, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity.
The Washington-based watchdog journalism group compiled a series of mashups to illustrate the spatial extent of Superfund sites.
Here are links to each state’s mashup: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
Each state page also has information on proposed, existing and remediated Superfund sites. A state’s total number of Superfund sites reflects all three of these conditions.
The center labels sites based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criteria. Pennsylvania has the highest total number at 122, but more than half are considered “construction complete.”
Although it’s the last milestone reached before deletion from the National Priorities List, a majority of constructed completed sites have been in that phase for five years or more, according to the investigation.
Indiana has the fewest Superfund sites in the region with 34. Most are located in the northern part of the state.
The center’s Wasting Away investigation features six stories about companies and government agencies linked to the sites and problems with funding cleanups.