Undiscovered hazardous waste sites pose major uncertainties for both state-level remedial planning efforts and private sector real estate transactions. To accelerate the identification of such sites, we describe an approach to reconstruct the history of occupants and uses of a specific parcel. By utilizing a combination of historical data sources and recent public records, the investigator may develop a profile of potential waste-generating activities over the previous 100-year period in three phases: (1) first and early, (2) intermediate, (3) recent and present. The site history serves as a valuable tool for risk management by helping to determine if and to what extent surface and subsurface explorations should be undertaken.
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Allen White (1984) studied this question.