I hope that all you are dealing with is household garbage. It is not probable that you have what would be termed as hazardous waste on your property. Superfund looks at contamination as an analyte that is above three times background level and/or above certain benchmarks. I believe Region 9 RPGs are used in most areas.
If your well is constructed properly (if you have one) and is deeper then 80 feet, it is very unlikely you will have issues in your well from household garbage. On the whole, contaminated wells are caused by poor construction, storing chemicals and gas in the pump house, or by septic systems being too close to the well. Many of these contaminants are easily filtered out via a charcoal and sand filter.
Another thing you must consider is a likely route of exposure. For soils, the route of exposure is via ingesting the dirt. Children eat a lot more dirt then adults do. For most contaminants, skin contact is not enough to constitute an exposure. Exposures (in the eyes of Superfund) are viewed as long-term risks – i.e., exposure over 30 years. If there was an immediate danger to life and health, you would more then likely know it by now.
If you contact a company to perform a Phase I or Phase II investigation on your property, be prepared to shell out some money. If they find anything on your property, by law, they will have to notify the State. Once government agencies are involved, it can be a long, arduous, painful process.
If a government agency, State or EPA, find hazardous waste on your property at levels that are high enough to constitute an emergency removal, they can seek to recover their costs from the landowner for a period of ten years. A lien can be placed on your property and they may or may not seek to recover costs from previous owners. If you, in any way, shape, or form, attempt to do any clean up on your own, then you are, in effect, accepting responsibility for the wastes.
The EPA does not normally go after ‘innocent’ landowners, but with the cuts in the budget, they are seeking monies wherever they can find them.
Before I went out and spent money on soil and groundwater tests, I would start researching the history of my property. Often, you can find the clues you need without resorting to expensive chemical analysis. Talk with older folks in the area that might remember when and what was dumped there. See if an area college has a map archive that contains historic aerial photographs. Check out the previous owners on your title search and talk to them if they are still around.
Take note of what you are finding. If it is household garbage, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. If you start turning up 55-gallon drums or start discovering evidence of industrial waste, then I would be calling in some help.
If it is an old farm property, pesticides can be a concern. Usually, this is where pesiticides were mixed or empty containers dumped. If your home is in what was primarily an agricultural area, there can be elevated pesticides related to the legal application of pesticides. This is a pretty thorny issue with no real resolutions at the moment.
DDT, DDE, DDD, endrin, and toxaphene are often found in areas that used to be agriculture but are now residential. Lead arsenate (a lead arsenical compound) can be found in areas that used to be orchards.
