Rising groundwater threatens to spread toxic pollution on U.S. coastlines

Hidden flows of water are poised to flush toxic contamination into U.S. coastal communities.

Sea level rise from climate change won’t just force shorelines to retreat — in inland areas, it will guilefully lift groundwater into shallower soils. That rising water could infiltrate hundreds of U.S. Superfund sites — severely polluted locations identified by the Environmental Protection Agency for cleanup — researchers warn in a preliminary study posted May 25 to ESS Open Archive.

These sites — and thousands of other polluted areas — could be at risk of releasing…