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Koppers Company, Inc. (Morrisville Plant)

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Western perimeter of the former Fire Pond at the Koppers Company, Inc. (Morrisville Plant) site.
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Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: NCD003200383
Location: Morrisville, Wake County, NC
Lat/Long: 35.846300, -078.840600
Congressional District: 04
NPL Status: Proposed: 06/24/88; Final: 03/31/89
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil, Surface water
Cleanup Status: Construction complete – physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Portion of site remains an operational wood processing facility; portions of site currently unused.
Site Manager: Beverly Stepter (stepter.beverly@epa.gov)


Site Background

In 1962, Koppers Company, Inc. (Koppers) acquired the 52 acre site.  Between 1968 to 1975, Koppers operated a wood treatment process known as CELLON. The CELLON process, dismantled in 1975, involves the use of pentachlorophenol and isopropyl ether. Wastewater from the CELLON process was treated in effluent lagoons before discharging to an on-site surface water body. Following closure of the lagoons in 1977, the liquids were sprayed over two fields on-site. Lagoon sludge was removed, mixed with soil and backfilled into the lagoon area and adjacent soil. In 1982, pentachlorophenol contaminants were found in on-site soil, groundwater, surface water and sediment. Groundwater within three miles of the site is a source of drinking water for 2,200 people. The site facility is currently active under the ownership of Beazer East, Inc.

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Cleanup Progress

Construction Completed
In 1980 and 1986, Koppers removed approximately 1,500 cubic yards of pentachlorophenol contaminated soil from the former lagoon area and transported it to an off-site hazardous waste disposal facility. In 1989, under an Administrative Order on Consent, Koppers installed more than three miles of public water supply lines to affected homes near the site. A final cleanup decision for the site was reached between EPA and the State in December, 1992. Under a Unilateral Administrative Order issued to Beazer East, Inc. in April, 1993, the remedial action was initiated in the Fall of 1995. The following remedial activities were conducted between September 1995 and December 1996: removal and off-site incineration of 775 tons of contaminated soil, construction and commencement of a groundwater pump and treat system, pond dewatering and backfilling, and habitat mitigation. Groundwater pump and treat is ongoing. Construction activities were completed in 1997. A Notice of Intent to Delete the Unit Structures property from the Koppers Company was published in the Federal Register (FR) on June 23, 1997 (FRL - 5845-7). The official Notice of Deletion appeared in the FR on September 2, 1997.

Soil remediation - June 1996, soils contaminated with PCP and dioxin were excavated and taken off-site for incineration at a facility in Calvert city, Kentucky. The site was then covered with clean soils, graded and seeded. Surface water - Both ponds were dewatered and backfilled with clean soil in October 1995. The Agency received a certificate of completion from the State certifying that the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control ordinance of the State of N.C. had been met for all work completed at the Site. Groundwater - The groundwater treatment system was designed, constructed, installed and began operating in May 1996.

EPA completed the first five-year review on this Site in 2002. This review included resampling nearby residential wells, sampling the sediments in the Fire Pond and sampling offsite monitoring wells. The 5-year review was done to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedy as provided for in the ROD. The remedy continues to be protective of human health and the environment. As of July 2004, the PRPs submitted a request for EPA to consider the use of monitored natural attenuation as a remedial action in lieu of the groundwater treatment system. EPA reviewed the Groundwater Natural Attenuation Assessment and concurs with the conceptual approach for a pilot-scale study.

EPA conducted the second five-year review in 2007.  This five-year review was tasked to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).  The USACE conducted site inspections and assessed the protectiveness of the remedy at the Koppers site.  The second five year review indicated that the remedy continues to be protective of human health and the environment.

As of April 2011, the groundwater extraction system is currently pumping at its optimum. Monitoring will continue under the approved Groundwater Monitoring Program.

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Enforcement Activities

In 1989, EPA and Beazer signed an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) to allow Beazer to conduct the Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasibility Study (FS).

In 1993, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to conduct the cleanup action.

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Community Involvement

EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Koppers site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices and information meetings on cleanup progress and activities.

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Future Work

As of June 2009, the ground water extraction system is currently pumping at its optimum. Monitoring will continue under the approved Groundwater Monitoring Program.

The next FYR is required by September 2012.

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Site Administrative Documents

Site Repository

For more information or to view any site-related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.

West Regional Library
4000 Louis Stephens Drive
Cary, NC 27511

For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.

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