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Aberdeen Pesticide Dumps
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Site photo goes here.
- 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: NCD980843346Location: Aberdeen, Moore County, NC
Lat/Long: 35.138400, -079.447200
Congressional District: 02
NPL Status: Proposed: 01/22/87; Final: 03/31/89
Affected Media: Debris, Ground water, Soil, Surface water
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Part of the Farm Chemicals parcel has been put into reuse for commercial purposes / Potential for light industrial and recreational uses on other portions
Site Manager(s): Jennifer Wendel (wendel.jennifer@epa.gov)
Luis Flores (flores.luis@epa.gov)
Jon Bornholm (bornholm.jon@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Aberdeen Pesticide Dumps site, located in Moore County, North Carolina, consists of five geographically separate areas known as the Farm Chemicals Area, Twin Sites Area, Fairway Six Area, McIver Dump Area and Route 211 Area. The site consists of an inactive pesticide formulation plant and four areas which were used by the plant operators for disposal of waste generated during the formulation process. Contamination related to industrial formulation/blending of pesticides resulted in the contamination of soil and ground water.
The site was initially discovered in 1984. In 2004, a portion of the Farm Chemicals area parcel began being used to house mini-storage warehouse commercial units.
Threats and Contaminants
Contaminants in the soil and those which have migrated into ground water include, but are not limited to, benzene hexachloride isomers, toxaphene, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), dibromochloropropane, xylene, ethyl benzene, and toluene. City of Aberdeen residents rely on ground water as their sole source of drinking water. Pesticide contamination in groundwater is wide spread, impacting both municipal water wells and private water wells.
Site Cleanup Plan
Between 1985 and 1989, EPA conducted removal actions at four of the areas of the site.
In 1991, a Record of Decision (ROD)/ROD Amendment was issued describing the cleanup approach to be used for remaining contaminated soil/debris at all five Areas. The document specified that soil contaminated above the specified soil cleanup goals was to be excavated and thermally treated on site. In 1992, the cleanup approach was modified through an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) to alter the soil excavation standard for each contaminant. In 1996, a second ESD was issued which modified the depth of the soil excavation and revised the cleanup standard for arsenic in soils at the Farm Chemicals Area.
In 1993, EPA issued a ROD, describing a cleanup approach using a pump and treat system for contaminated ground water at the Farm Chemicals, Twin Sites, and Fairway Six Areas. ESDs modifying the cleanup approach were issued in 1994 and 1997 to include additional contaminants of concern and phytoremediation as part of the cleanup strategy. In 2003, the cleanup approach was further modified via a ROD Amendment allowing use of monitored natural attenuation (use of natural processes) for the long-term treatment of contaminated ground water.
In 1999, EPA issued a ROD, describing the cleanup approach for contaminated ground water at the Route 211 Area and contaminated ground water, surface water and sediment at the Mclver Dump Area. The ground water treatment approach for the Route 211 Area included extraction and treatment of ground water in contaminant source areas and natural attenuation. The treatment approach for the McIver Area included natural attenuation in ground water, surface water and sediments and phytoremediation.
Cleanup Progress
Between 1985 and 1989, EPA conducted removal actions at four of the areas of the Site. Contaminated soils removed from those areas were either stockpiled on-site or taken off-site for disposal. Cleanup decisions between EPA and the State were reached in September 1991 (addresses soils at all Areas) and October 1993 (addresses groundwater at the Farm Chemicals, Twin Sites, and Fairway Six Areas). The potentially responsible parties (PRPs) include Bayer Corp., E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., Syngenta (formerly know as Ciba Geigy Corp. and then Novartis Crop Protection Inc.), Olin Corp., Shell Oil Co., and Union Carbide Corp signed a Consent Decree with EPA to implement the clean-up which was entered into Federal Court in January 1999. The soil remedy consisted of on-site thermal treatment of pesticide laden soil from all five areas at a central location. The October 1993 Record of Decision (ROD) required groundwater to be pumped and treated at the Farm Chemicals, Twin Sites, and Fairway Six Areas.
Physical onsite work began in November, 1996, with the demolition of 12 buildings at the inactive formulation plant (i.e., Farm Chemical Area). Thermal treatment of over 123,000 tons of pesticide contaminated soil started in October 1997 and continued through April 1998. The groundwater remedial design for Farm Chemicals, Twin Sites, and Fairway Six areas was finalized in 1998. Construction of the groundwater remedies for McIver area and Route 211 were completed in May 2000 and December 1997, respectively.
The groundwater remedy for Farm Chemicals, Twin Sites, and Fairway Six areas was changed via a September 2003 ROD Amendment. Over ten years of groundwater data supported changing the remedy from a pump and treat remedy to monitored natural attenuation along with phytoremediation. Resampling sediment, surface water and fish from Pages Lake in 2004 confirmed that Site related contaminant levels in this lake are not a risk to the public health. Prior to 2008, groundwater at these three areas was sampled on an annual basis. The Agency recently completed the first Five-Year Review of the remedy for the entire Site. After 2008, groundwater samples at the Farm Chemicals, Twin Sites, and Fairway Six areas will be sampled every five (5) years as part of the five-year review process. The exception to this is that the groundwater at Farm Chemical/Twin Sites will be sampled every other year and analyzed for toluene and sodium. Contaminated groundwater at the Route 211 area is continuing to be extracted and treated. The treated groundwater is being discharged back into the aquifer upgradient of the extraction wells. Monitored natural attenuation along with phytoremediation was the selected remedy for groundwater at the McIver Dump area. All future sampling efforts will be governed by the Performance Standards Verification Plan for Monitored Natural Attenuation (May 2004). The Preliminary Close-Out Report (PCOR) was issued by the Agency in September 2003. The first Five-Year Review Report was completed on September 22, 2008 and made the following four recommendations: 1) Prepare Institutional Controls Implementation Plan – This plan should describe the approach for placing restrictive covenants, well drilling ordinances, or other enforceable institutional controls that will prevent the installation of a potable well on a property not under the control of the PRPs at the time the ROD Amendment was issued which overlies the plume where Site related COCs exceed specified performance standards. 2) Reassess impact of phytoremediation zones on hydrology of area, evapotranspiration rate of tree canopy, etc. Evaluate root growth, biochemical activities of rhizosphere, etc. 3) Update/Revise modeling efforts in calculating timeframes to achieve groundwater performance standards as well as the MNA evaluation presented in the 1999 Farm Chemicals/Twin Sites Second Look Proposal Report and 1999 Fairway Six Second Look Proposal Report. 4) Duplicate 2004 surface water/sediment sampling effort in Pages Lake.
Enforcement Activities
1993, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) to numerous PRPs to implement the Remedial Design/Remedial Action (RD/RA) for the soils cleanup approach across all Areas.
In 1994, two PRPs entered in Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with EPA to conduct the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the Route 211/McIver Dump Area.
In 1994-1995, EPA issued a UAO to numerous PRPs to implement the RD/RA for ground water contamination for the Farm Chemicals, Twin sites, and Fairway Six Areas.
In 1994, PRPs entered into an AOC with EPA concerning performance of the RI/FS for ground water at Route 211 and Mclver Areas.
In 1998, a Partial Consent Decree was entered that supersedes previous UAOs.
PRPs signed a Consent Decree with EPA which was entered into Federal Court in 1999.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Aberdeen Pesticide Dumps 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 fact sheets (see below), public notices and information meetings on cleanup progress and activities.
Fact Sheets
- Closeout Fact Sheet, November 2003 (PDF) (4 pp, 32K, About PDF)
Future Work
Ground water cleanup approaches continue to be implemented.
Ground water monitoring will continue.
The second FYR will need to be completed in September 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.
Aberdeen Town Hall
115 N. Poplar St.
Aberdeen, NC 28315
Administrative Record Index
- OU-5 (PDF) (8 pp, 494K, About PDF)
- OU-3 Amend (PDF) (6 pp, 349K, About PDF)
- OU-3 ESD (PDF) (6 pp, 337K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.