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Five-Year Review for Sangamo Weston/12-Mile Creek/Lake Hartwell PCB Superfind Site Completed

Release Date: 10/18/2004
Contact Information: Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, niles.laura@epa.gov

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 announced today that the five-year review report for the Sangamo Weston/12-Mile Creek/Lake Hartwell PCB Superfund site (Sangamo Weston) Operable Unit Two has been completed.  Operable Unit Two (OU2) of the Sangamo Weston site addresses the sediment, surface water and biological migration pathways downstream of the former capacitor manufacturing plant located off of Sangamo Road in Pickens, South Carolina.  The five-year review process is required by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as Superfund) to ensure that the remedy selected for the site is adequately protective of human health and the environment.  The five-year review report concludes that the 1994 Record of Decision (ROD) for the site will be adequately protective of human health and the environment in the near future while long-term monitoring of sediment and fish continues at the site.  Operation and optimization of the on-going groundwater recovery systems on the former plant site continue, as well.  The former capacitor manufacturing plant that contributes to contamination at the site was operated from 1955 to 1987 by Sangamo Weston, Inc. In its manufacturing processes, Sangamo used several varieties of fluids which contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Waste disposal practices from the Sangamo Plant included land-burial of capacitors and wastewater treatment sludges on the plant site and six satellite disposal areas within a 3-mile radius of the plant. PCBs were also discharged directly into Town Creek, which is a tributary of 12-Mile Creek. 12-Mile Creek is a major tributary of the 56,000 acre Lake Hartwell. As part of its overall strategy in addressing the Sangamo site, EPA split the site into two Operable Units. Operable Unit One (OU1) consists of the land-based source areas including the plant site and six satellite disposal areas. OU2 addresses the sediment and biological impacts downstream of the land-based source areas. The five-year review report and supporting documentation can be found on-line at https://cfpub.epa.gov/fiveyear/index.cfm?fuseaction=fyrsearch.showSitePage&id=0403252.  This information also is available for public review at the following repositories: Pickens County Public Library, 110 West First Avenue, Easley, SC 29640, (864) 850-7077; and RM Cooper Library, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, (864) 656-3027.