The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added the Kokomo Contaminated Ground Water Plume in Kokomo, Indiana, to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites.

There are facilities near the contamination site that handle vinyl chloride, a substance that can lead to liver damage and some rare forms of cancer, though no specific source of contamination has been identified, according to a recent press release.

The plume is approximately 300 acres and encompasses several municipal wells in the city. Approximately 55,000 Kokomo residents rely on drinking water from the affected well field.

The EPA is also proposing that the Main Street Ground Water Plume in Burnet, Texas, be added to the Superfund list.

The Superfund program, established by Congress in 1980, investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country and converts them into productive community resources by eliminating or reducing public health risks and environmental contamination associated with hazardous waste sites.