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SCRDI Bluff Road
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Ground water treatment facility building at the SCRDI Bluff Road site.
- Additional Site Photos
- Site Video
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: SCD000622787Location: Columbia, Richland County, SC
Lat/Long: 33.885410, -080.908750
Congressional District: 06
NPL Status: Proposed: 12/30/82; Final: 09/08/83
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Portion of site is being use for industrial/commercial purposes
Site Manager: Yvonne O Jones (jones.yvonneo@epa.gov)
Site Background
The South Carolina Recycling and Disposal, Inc. (SCRDI) Bluff Road site is located in Richland County, South Carolina. The site is about 10 miles south of the City of Columbia along State Highway 48, also known as Bluff Road. The site covers eight acres, four of which are a single rectangular parcel of land. The front half of the property is cleared, and used for various industrial and commercial purposes. The back half of the site is heavily wooded.
The site is located in a rural and remote area. The nearest residence lies one mile away. Approximately 3,500 people live within four miles of the site. About 1,200 people work immediately across the street from the site at a Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Rod Manufacturing facility.
Approximately 7,500 drums and numerous smaller containers of toxic, flammable, and reactive wastes were stored on the site from 1975 until it was closed in 1982. It was closed after a ground water investigation by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and EPA revealed the presence of contaminants in the site's soils and ground water. In 1984 SCDHEC began studying further cleanup needs at the site until responsibility was transferred to EPA.
Threats and Contaminants
Major site contamination was found to be present in both the site soils and ground water, even after a surficial cleanup of the site was performed in 1982-1983. Major soil contaminants included acetone, chloroform, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, toluene, chlorobenzene, and tetrachloroethane. Significant ground water contaminants include acetone, 1,1-dichloroethane, toluene, 1,2-dichloroethene, aluminum, and iron. A large plume of contaminated ground water spreads southeast from the site.
Site Cleanup Plan
A Record of Decision (ROD) for the site was issued in 1990. Major components of the cleanup approach included:
- Extraction and on-site treatment by air stripping (process of forcing air through polluted ground water) to remove harmful chemicals of contaminated ground water at the site.
- On-site soil vacuum extraction of contaminated soils at the site.
- Monitoring.
- Subsurface injection of treated water.
An Explanation of Significant Difference (ESD) was issued in 1992 clarifying that a Five-Year Review (FYR) was applicable for the site, because contamination in soil and ground water would remain on site above health-based risk levels until the cleanup actions were fully implemented and deemed successful. It was projected that, from when the ROD was issued, soil cleanup would take two years and ground water cleanup would take 16 years.
A second ESD was issued in 1994 clarifying a technical change to the cleanup approach (selection of a catalytic oxidizer unit over vapor phase carbon adsorption.
Cleanup Progress
In 1982-1983, all drums and surface materials were removed from the site, as part of a removal action. The action was financed by a number of the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and assisted by EPA and SCDHEC.
Construction of the soil cleanup system, (soil vapor extraction system), was started and completed in 1994. Cleanup goals for soil were met in late 1996. The system was removed from the site in 1997.
The ground water cleanup system consists of a series of extraction wells, a treatment system with air strippers, and a series of 10 reinjection wells. Full scale operation began in 1996. As of June 1, 2009, the system had recovered, treated, and reinjected over 718 million gallons of ground water. Approximately 3,889 pounds of volatile organic compounds have been effectively removed and treated to discharge limits since the startup of the system. A full-time on-site employee oversees the system’s operation.
The first FYR for the site, issued in 2003, determined that cleanup actions taken continue to be protective of human health and the environment. The second FYR was completed in 2008 and found that the cleanup approach remains protective.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by PRPs with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
A Consent Agreement was reached in 1983.
A Judicial/Civil Judgment was issued in 1986.
EPA issued 139 Special Notice letters leading to an Administrative Order on Consent in 1988 for PRPs to perform the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study.
Since the ROD was issued in 1990, EPA negotiated with over 100 PRPs that had operated, or had hazardous wastes transported and disposed at the SCRDI Bluff Road site. The result of the negotiations was a Consent Decree (a contractual agreement where PRPs agreed to pay site cleanup and EPA oversight costs) finalized in 1990.
Litigation with adjacent property owners over the PRPs’ and EPA’s access to property surrounding the site caused significant delays (over two years) in beginning cleanup of the site.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the SCRDI Bluff Road 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, neighborhood interviews, information meetings, and formal public meetings on cleanup progress and activities. Additional site tours have been provided to nearby residents.
Future Work
Ground water treatment is ongoing. Ground water sampling data is collected semi-annually and reported to EPA.
The next FYR for the site is scheduled to be completed by 2013.
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.
Richland County Public Library
7421 Garners Ferry Road
Columbia, SC 20209
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.