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660 HAZWOPER for General Site Workers I
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Brownfields and Clandestine Drug Labs

A brownfield site is defined as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant."

Brownfields Teamwork & Success

The definition further identifies the types of sites included and excluded from coverage.

There are more than 450,000 brownfields in the United States. A key characteristic of a brownfield site is that it is targeted for redevelopment. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.

Brownfields are not necessarily contaminated, but they are not assumed to be "clean" because of their prior commercial or industrial use.

In recent years, some federal agencies and most States have initiated brownfields programs, often to foster economic revitalization. One example at the Federal level is the EPA's brownfields program. At the state level, brownfields programs often provide the site owner relief from some environmental liability when the site is determined to be clean.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

5-1. What is a brownfield site?