Koppers Company, Inc. (Morrisville Plant)

• 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:
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..

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.