News Releases from Region 04
EPA Conducting Fourth Five-Year Review for Superfund Site in Raleigh, North Carolina
ATLANTA (August 27, 2018) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently conducting a Five-Year Review (FYR) of the selected cleanup action at the North Carolina State University (Lot 86, Farm Unit #1) Superfund site in Raleigh, North Carolina. The purpose of the FYR is to ensure the selected cleanup actions are working as intended and continue to protect public health and the environment.
The 1.5-acre site is located north of Carter-Finley Stadium on the University campus in Raleigh. Located on state-owned property, the site includes a metal building housing the site’s groundwater extraction system and an array of solar panels surrounded by secure fencing. Investigations in the early 1980s found that site activities resulted in the contamination of soil and groundwater with heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, volatile organic compounds and radioactive wastes, including tritium, carbon-14, iron-59 and phosphorus-32. The EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in October 1984.
In the September 1996 Record of Decision, EPA selected a remedy to address soil and groundwater contamination. The remedy included treatment and encapsulation of contaminated soil and the extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater. Cleanup activities began in 1998 after the University, the site’s potentially responsible party, signed a Consent Decree with the EPA to perform the cleanup. The cleanup was conducted with EPA oversight. The University completed soil remediation in October 1999 and construction of the groundwater remedy in September 2006. Groundwater treatment is ongoing. It includes air stripping and carbon adsorption to remove contaminants and treated water is discharged to the local sewer system. Long-term groundwater monitoring tracks contaminant plume migration and verifies the effectiveness of the groundwater treatment system.
The FYR will be completed by September 2018. A final copy of the report will be placed in the site’s local document repository, located at Cameron Village Regional Public Library, 1930 Clark Avenue in Raleigh and online at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/superfund/sites/npl/northcarolina/ncstatnc.html.
As part of the FYR process, EPA staff is available to answer any questions about the site. Community members who have questions about the site or the review process are asked to contact: Michael Townsend, EPA Remedial Project Manager, at (404) 562-8813 or via email townsend.michael@epa.gov; or Angela Miller, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, at (678) 575-8132 or via email miller.angela@epa.gov
For more information about the North Carolina State University (Lot 86, Farm Unit #1) Superfund site, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region4/superfund/sites/npl/northcarolina/ncstatnc.html.
