Superfund Program

Superfund Program Peggy Toler E. Hansen/EVS1001-31 March 31, 2011 Peggy Toler 2 Superfund Program I did not know what a Superfund program was until I looked it up and then I found out that it is an act that is the cornerstone legislation that provides the mechanism and funding for the cleanup of potentially dangerous hazardous-waste sites and the protection of ground water and human health. When you live near a superfund site, you and your family are at risk of developing a disease from the exposure of the different pollutants in these sites and may experience a loss of value of your property.

The EPA says that there are steps that we can take to fight back. They have also said that they have set up a “Post Construction” strategy to ensure that Superfund response actions provide for the long-term protection of human health and the environment. The Construction Completion activities also involve optimizing remedies to increase effectiveness and /or to reduce cost without sacrificing long-term protection. There is still a health hazard for those who live close to a Superfund site.

The site that I have found in my state was the Chemtronic, Inc. in Swannanoa, NC. It is about 1,027 acres and only about 20 acres in total are contaminated with these pollutants. This property has had several owners and operators and it was first developed as an industrial site in 1952. After first opening the first products that were manufactured on this site were explosives, incapacitating agents, and chemical intermediates. There are about 23 individual on-site disposal areas that were identified during the investigation activities on this site.

During 1971, the disposal practices were not well defined. Solid waste materials and possibly solvents were reportedly incinerated in pits dug in the burning ground these pits are known as the Acid Pit Peggy Toler 3 area. There are the chemical wastes that were also disposed of in the trenches located in the Acid Pit Area. All of the activities at this site ended in 1994, and no new activities are occurring on this site. There is no on-site ground water and surface water being used in any way for anything.

This site is bordered up on the North and West sides by woodlands and primarily national forests. There are several industrial facilities to the immediate South of this site. In the contaminants contained in these on-site disposal areas there are volatile organic compounds which include (1,2-dichloroethane, trans-1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethane, and tetrachloroethane), semi-volatile organic compounds which include benzophenone, benzylic acid, and explosives, and then there are the metals like chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc.

The contaminants that are detected in the ground water include benzene, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane, trans-1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethane, benzophenone, benzylic acid, picric acid, explosives, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. The site cleanup plans were issued in 1988. The major cleanup elements for this site include the installation of a ground water extraction and treatment system down gradient of the disposal areas in both the front valley and the back valley which is known as the Gregg Valley, capping and fixation/stabilization for contaminated soil in the disposal areas.

These capped areas are fence with a chain-link fence and marked. Then they have a monitoring program to be established for the surface water. The ROD has issued an amend for this site in 1989, that specified the deletion of the requirement to solidify soil in Disposal Area (DA-23) as a result of an error in the remedial investigation data which was carried over into the initial ROD. Peggy Toler 4 With the cleanup progress with the capping and stabilization/solidification or the contaminated soil in the disposal area began in 1991, and was completed in 1993. They have placed multi-layer caps in the following areas DA-6, DA-7/8, DA-9, DA-10/11, DA-23 and in the Acid Pit Area. They have also installed a gas venting system at the Acid Pit Area. The Rod of 1988, addressed only those disposal areas that were deemed CERCLA related. The other disposal areas on the property were considered Resource Conservation and Recovery Act also known as (RCRA) areas as prior to 1994.

The potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for the site undertook corrective actions to improve the operation of both the extraction systems and treatment systems in both valleys. The corrections that have taken place have significantly reduced the down time to these systems experienced in the past. There have been two reviews that have been developed for the site in 2002 and 2007. The review that was done in 2007, they found that the site was protective of the human health and the environment in the short-term.

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources requested that the EPA consolidate oversight of all site environmental remediation activities under the EPA’s superfund authority and relinquished the state’s RCRA oversight responsibilities for the site to the EPA’s Superfund program in March 2007. Recently the PRPs submitted the draft RI/FS Work Plan based on the Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) and accompanying statement of work. These cleanup activities have been undertaken by the PRPs with EPA’s oversight. Peggy Toler 5 There are three viable PRPs for the site that has been identified by EPA and they are Chemtronic, Inc. Northrop Grumman System Corporation, and CAN Holding, Inc. In 2008 the AOC signed by the PRPs and the EPA will address the cleanup for the former RCRA areas at the site that will now be addressed under CERCLA. The EPA has conducted a range of activities for the community to get involved at the Chemtronic site to solicit the community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about any of the site activities throughout the site cleanup process. These outreach activities include public notices, interviews and public meeting on these cleanup activities and updates.

In the future they are monitoring the ground water at the site, they say that the field work for the revised RI/FS should begin in the summer of 2009, and the next FYR for these sites is expected in 2012. As you will find out the more we try to cleanup areas like this, we have other pollutants in the world. There are things that we can do to help with these pollutants like cleaning everything that we can and stop putting things into the ground.

References * Boorse, D. F. & Wright, R. T. (2011) Environmental Science (11 Edition) * www. epa. gov/region4/waste/nplnc/chemtrnc. htm