sics of superconductivity, Mayo emphasizes the
possible applications of high-temperature super-
conductors for computers, medicine, and trans-
portation. Helpful glossary.
Schechter, Bruce.The Path of No Resistance: The Stor y
of the Revolution in Superconductivity.New York: Si-
mon & Schuster, 1989. After a survey of early work
on superconductivity, Schechter concentrates on
the pivotal discoveries of Bednorz and Müller, as
well as Wu and Chu. Emphasis is on superconduc-
tor theory, applications, and possible commer-
cialization.
Simon, Randy, and Andrew Smith.Superconductors:
Conquering Technology’s New Frontier.New York: Ple-
num Press, 1988. Intended for readers with no
background in physics. Analyzes the nature, his-
tory, and theories of superconductivity, as well
as the possible influence of discoveries in high-
temperature superconductivity on future tech-
nologies.
Tinkham, Michael.Introduction to Superconductivity.
2d ed. New York: Dover Books, 2004. Accessible to
science students with some knowledge of physics
and mathematics, this book contains a historical
overview and an analysis of the principal experi-
ments and theories in the field, including high-
temperature superconductors.
Robert J. Paradowski
See also Computers; Inventions; Nobel Prizes; Sci-
ence and technology.
Superfund program
Identification Program setting up a general fund
to pay for cleanup of hazardous waste sites
The Superfund was a joint public and private program de-
signed to facilitate cleanup of the worst American toxic
waste sites. However, it was underfunded and litigation in-
tensive, and it did not represent a permanent total solution
to the nation’s hazardous waste problem.
The Superfund program, started in 1980, was the
United States’ primary answer to the growing prob-
lem of toxic waste dumps in the 1980’s. That prob-
lem burst into the national consciousness in the
1970’s, when an entire neighborhood in upstate
New York was declared unlivable as a result of toxic
waste: At Love Canal, near Niagara Falls, a subdivi-
sion had been built over a former toxic waste dump.
After many protests, eight hundred families living
there were relocated. Even after the national scope
of the toxic waste problem was acknowledged, how-
ever, President Jimmy Carter was unable to convince
Congress to pay for a long-term nationwide cleanup
program. The compromise reached was the Super-
fund, created by the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980).
The Superfund was promoted as a way to clean up
the various toxic waste dumps around the country
without massive federal aid. The Superfund’s moneys
come from taxes on petroleum products and chemi-
cals. To be eligible for cleanup using Superfund
money, a contaminated site must be placed on an
official list of Superfund sites. It must first be nomi-
nated for inclusion and then inspected and certi-
fied. Sites on the Superfund list are ranked by prior-
ity, which is important, because the Superfund has
never collected nearly enough revenue to clean up
most of the sites on the list. Thus, only those near the
top have a chance of receiving government-funded
attention.
When it was recognized that the Superfund’s
federal revenues were inadequate, the government
sought to force polluting companies to clean up the
contamination they had produced. Such companies
could be fined tens of thousands of dollars per day if
they refused to comply. These companies often then
sued other responsible parties, either to recoup the
costs of cleanup or to recover the money spent to pay
fines.
While the Love Canal disaster was the main inci-
dent that helped lead to the Superfund legislation, it
was not the only environmental disaster of the 1970’s
and 1980’s. During the mid-1980’s, a wide variety of
environmental issues surfaced. In Missouri, the en-
tire town of Times Beach was closed and relocated
because of dioxin contamination. The town had
hired a contractor to pour oil on its dirt roads to con-
tain dust, and the contractor used oil that had two
thousand times the level of dioxin present in many
herbicides. In New Jersey, huge quantities of medi-
cal waste washed up on the state’s shores in 1987 and
1988, forcing the closing of many beaches. The med-
ical waste came from a New York City landfill.Impact The Superfund attempted to create a
government-private partnership to clean up hazard-The Eighties in America Superfund program 929