Program Overview: Background Substances
Many of the sample results shown on the EDMS Web site show detections of analytes that are considered to be "background." Background substances are not considered to be the result of any activities at Camp Navajo and are not considered as Contaminants being Investigated at Camp Navajo. The EPA defines Background as:
Substances or locations, which are not influenced by the releases from a site, and are usually described as naturally occurring or anthropogenic.
- Naturally occurring: substances present in the environment in forms that have not been influenced by human activity; and,
- Anthropogenic: natural and human made substances present in the environment as a result of human activities not specifically related to the investigation site in question.
A list of contaminants being investigated at Camp Navajo is available and can also be accessed from the Summary Report, which lists the analytes detected at a given location.