North Belmont PCE

• Site Profile
• Additional Site Documents including Five Year Reviews, Records of Decisions (ROD) and Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD).
• For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office (http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/submit.htm).

Site Background:
The North Belmont PCE Site consists of two closed dry cleaning operations located in North Belmont, Gaston County, North Carolina. The main source area was operated from 1960 to 1975 as a dry-cleaning establishment. A boiler located behind the building was used to "distill" the waste dry cleaning solvents. The spent solvent residue from the boiler distillation unit was reportedly disposed onto the ground surface behind the building, and spent solvents were disposed through the on-site septic tank system. The other source area was also operated as a dry cleaning prior to 1960. In February 1991, the Gaston County Health Department sampled the well that provided water to the North Belmont Elementary School and two single family dwellings. This sampling was associated with an effort by the County to evaluate community water supplies for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contamination. The results of this sampling indicated significant VOC contamination in the well. EPA and the Gaston County Health Department sampled 25 drinking water wells. Tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (1,2-DCE) were detected in sixteen samples. PCE concentrations were found as high as 15,000 parts per billion (ppb).

Cleanup Progress: Construction Completion:
EPA connected the elementary school and twenty-nine of the neighborhood drinking water wells to the City of Belmont water system. The Record of Decision (ROD) was signed in September 1997.  Remedial design activities were completed in June 2000. Remedial activities, which include connecting the remainder of the neighborhood to public water supply, were completed in January 2000. The construction of the in-well circulation and vapor stripping system was completed in March 2004. The site achieved construction completion in June 2004. The treatment system for the Site is temporarily mothballed until additional discharge options can be adequately evaluated.  The current system was rendered inoperable due to the inability to discharge the treated groundwater in sufficient quantities. Additional efforts are required to resolve the issue of discharging the treated groundwater. The first five year review for the Site is currently underway.   The anticipated completion of the five year review is summer of 2009.