A Hazardous Waste Site

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A Hazardous Waste Site
PCB Contamination
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Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

• Man-made class of oil-like chemicals used in the
  manufacture of electrical equipment due to the
  molecules insulating properties.
• Banned from manufacture in the US in 1977.

      

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PCBs in the Environment

• Do not readily break down and thus persist in the
  environment
• Stick to particles and bottom sediments in water
• Build up in fatty tissues of animals due to their
  fat-soluble (lipophilic) properties
  (bioaccumulation)
• Ingested by aquatic organisms and increase in
  concentration through food chain
  (biomagnification)

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Hazardous WasteHow did it get there?
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NPL Site Ward Transformer
late 1980s
about 1966

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NPL Site Ward Transformer

• Ward Transformer in Morrisville, NC reconditioned
  electrical transformers from 1964-2006.
• Added to EPAs National Priority List in 2003 due
  to discovery of PCB contaminated fish tissue,
  sediment and soil resulting from facility
  operations.
• Emergency Removal Action completed in 2011
  approximately 420,000 tons of PCB contaminated
  soil was treated or removed.

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Excavation and Testing of Soils at the Ward NPL
site
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Soil for stockpiled for thermal desorption unit
(PCB gt 50 ppm)
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Golder Associates

• 420,000 tons of soil treated or removed from the
  Ward site.

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One Site Two Remediation Areas

• Removal Action Area includes the Ward Transformer
  facility and immediate surrounding areas (OU-2).
• Emergency Removal Action completed in 2011.
• EPA is conducting a feasibility study for OU-2.
• Areas down gradient from the Ward Transformer
  facility (OU-1).
• The remedial design for OU-1 is ongoing.

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Down Gradient Contamination
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Down Gradient Contamination

• EPA proposed remediation alternatives in August
  2007.
• Public comments were accepted through early
  October 2007.
• In Sept 2008, the EPA selected a clean up plan.

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Pre-Clean Up

• Sampling of sediment and soil prior to digging.
• Doing an endangered mussel evaluation study.

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Clean Up Plan

• Digging up sediment and soil from Reaches B, C
  and D and lower Brier Creek.
• Disposing of dug-up materials at an off-site
  facility.
• Restoring the site and streams to their original
  states.
• Using monitored natural attenuation for Brier
  Creek Reservoir, Lake Crabtree and Lower Crabtree
  Creek.

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Clean Up Plan Education

• Continuing or enhancing existing North Carolina
  fish consumption advisories and signs.
• Starting educational and community outreach
  programs.

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Also

• Monitoring of sediment and aquatic plants and
  animals.
• Putting institutional controls in place.
• Conducting Five-Year Reviews.

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Protecting Our Water PCB Contamination at Ward
Transformer

• Watch documentary