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Koppers Company, Inc. (Morrisville Plant)
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Western perimeter of the former Fire Pond at the Koppers Company, Inc. (Morrisville Plant) 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: NCD003200383Location: 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
The Koppers Co. Inc. (Morrisville Plant) site is located approximately one mile northwest of the Morrisville Town Hall along North Carolina State Route 54. The original site was approximately 52 acres bounded on the south/southeast by McCrimmon Parkway (formerly Koppers Road), the west by Church Street, the north by a home site with open fields, and the east/northeast by a Norfolk Southern Railroad right-of-way.
This 52-acre original site was acquired by Koppers Company, Inc. in 1962. Between 1968 and 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.
The current site consists of five separate and distinct areas:
- The Unit Structures, Inc. property (approximately 33 acres), located on the original 52-acre site which includes an operational wood processing facility.
- The Beazer East, Inc. property (Beazer) (approximately 16.6 acres), located on the original 52-acre site, that consisted of a wood preserving process area, two lagoons that received wastewater from the process area, and a 3-acre man-made Fire Pond.
- The Medlin Pond area (approximately 4.6 acres) located to the south of McCrimmon Parkway
- A small parcel of land (approximately 0.5 acres) included within the Medlin Pond area) to the south of McCrimmon Parkway that was purchased by Beazer in 1993.
- A wetland referred to as the Seagondollar area constructed as part of the cleanup action located approximately 2.5 miles to the west of the original 52-acre site.
Threats and Contaminants
In 1982, pentachlorophenol contaminants were found in on-site soil, ground water, surface water and sediment. Ground water within three miles of the site is a source of drinking water for 2,200 people.
Site Cleanup Plan
Cleanup actions at the site were first initiated in 1980 and again in 1986. EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD), describing the cleanup approach for remaining site contamination, in 1992. Cleanup approaches were selected for contaminated soils, ground water, and surface water.
Major components of the cleanup approach for contaminated soils included:
- Excavation of contaminated soils from the lagoon and process areas on site to meet cleanup standards.
- Transport of soils to an off-site permitted incineration facility.
- Backfilling of excavated areas with clean fill.
- Regrading and revegatation of the excavated areas.
The cleanup approach for ground water included primarily the extraction and treatment of contaminated ground water using on-site wells and an above-ground treatment unit.
Major components of the cleanup approach for surface water included:
- Dewatering of the Fire and Medlin Ponds.
- Treatment of surface water by carbon adsorption.
- Discharging of treatment surface water in accordance with Clean Water Act requirements.
- Backfilling of the ponds with clean fill.
- Regrading and implementation of drainage control in the pond areas.
- Establishing new wetlands due to the previous loss of habitat of and partial loss of wetlands resulting from prior site activities.
Cleanup Progress
In 1980 and 1986, approximately 1,500 cubic yards of soil and contaminated materials were removed from the lagoon and other areas.
In 1988, Beazer PLC began providing bottled water to all residents whose wells showed detectable amounts of contaminants.
In 1989, Beazer began installing public water lines to the affected area.
The cleanup actions specified in the 1992 ROD were conducted in1995-1996. These included:
- Removal and off-site incineration of 775 tons of contaminated soil.
- Construction and commencement of a ground water pump and treat system.
- Pond dewatering and backfilling.
- Habitat mitigation.
In 1997, a portion of the Koppers site – the Unit Structures property – was deleted from the National Priorities List after EPA determined that no further response for this portion of the site was necessary.
Both the first and second Five-Year Reviews (FYRs) for the site, completed in 2002 and 2007, found that the cleanup approach continues to be protective of human health and the environment.
In 2004, the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) submitted a request for EPA to consider the use of monitored natural attenuation (the use of natural processes to reduce concentrations of contaminants in ground water), as a cleanup action in lieu of the ground water treatment system. EPA reviewed the Groundwater Natural Attenuation Assessment and concurs with the conceptual approach for a pilot-scale study.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by PRPs with oversight by EPA.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wake County Public Library
310 S. Academy
Cary, NC 27511
Administrative Record Index
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.