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ECONOMIC, LEGAL, AND PRACTICAL PROBLEMS IN HAZARDOUS WASTE 167 CLEANUP AND MANAGEMENT original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. Economic, Legal, and Practical Problems in Hazardous Waste Cleanup and Management Victoria J. Tschinkel Vacationers in Florida usually do not think about the possibility of pollution in the Sunshine State. Instead, images of white sandy beaches, palm trees, oranges, and bountiful freshwater lakes come to mind. It is true that Florida is not highly industrialized. Instead, the state's problems originate from a large number of small-quantity generators of hazardous waste. Florida is among the top 20 hazardous-waste-producing states in the nation and produces 3.2 million tons of hazardous waste each year. The state's 37 Superfund sites place Florida sixth in the nation among states with Superfund sites. These sites, along with 70,000 gasoline tanks and 10,000 registered pesticides in the state, are threats to the groundwater, which provides more than 90 percent of the state's citizens with drinking water. Unfortunately, these supplies have proved vulnerable to contamination because of the high water table and the porosity of the soils. Obviously, long-term solutions are needed for the proper management of waste produced by all generatorsâbut especially by the small-quantity generators. In addition, it is imperative to avoid problems such as those now being experienced, including 123 cases of confirmed groundwater contamination from toxic chemicals, and a similar number from gasoline-and diesel-storage facilities. There are many controversies surrounding toxic chemicals in the environmentâfrom setting standards, to allocating responsibilities should something go wrong. A few examples of issues that we in Florida have faced in cleaning up hazardous waste sites will illustrate these dilemmas. As we have attempted to control pollution at these sites and to clean them