The U.S. Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in response to growing concern
about health and environmental threats from hazardous waste sites. This
law is commonly called Superfund. Working with states and Indian Tribal
governments, Superfund requires EPA to deal with abandoned, accidentally
spilled, or illegally dumped hazardous substances from the past, primarily from
businesses and industry. Other types of pollution are handled by other
environmental laws.