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Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc.
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
- 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: NCD001810365Location: Charlotte, Mecklenberg County, NC
Lat/Long: 35.294450, -081.000000
Congressional District: 09
NPL Status: Proposed: 12/30/82; Final: 09/08/8
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction complete – physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Active manufacturing facility
Site Manager: Michael Townsend (townsend.michael@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Sandoz Chemical Corporation, Mount Holly Plant (formerly Sodyeco) is located on Highway 27 west in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Active manufacturing, administrative, and storage facilities cover about 150 acres of the approximately 1,500-acre site. The majority of the Sodyeco site is covered by woodlands and grassed areas.
The facility is a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulated facility. Operations began at the site with the DyeStuff Company in 1936. Initially, the plant produced liquid sulfur dyes from purchased raw materials. American Marietta (which became Martin Marietta in 1961) purchased the Sodyeco Site in 1958. Martin Marietta’s products included vat dyes, disperse dyes, and specialty chemical products for the agrochemical, electronic, lithographic, pigment, plastic, rubber and general chemical industries. Sodyeco Inc. purchased the plant from Martin Marietta in 1983. Sodyeco’s early operations wastes consisted of low volume, aqueous acidic or alkaline streams containing inorganic salts which were discharged untreated to the Catawba River. Later Sodyeco’s operations wastes expanded to include organic solvents. Among the materials land filled at the Sodyeco site were residual distillation tars from solvent recovery operations, empty drums and cartons, discarded chemicals, off-specification products, general plant wastes, and construction debris.
Threats and Contaminants
Site soil and ground water were contaminated with volatile organic contaminants, including chlorobenzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, xylene, tetrachloroethylene, and trichloroethylene.
Site Cleanup Plan
The Sodyeco site contains five contaminated areas designated as A, B, C, D, and E.
Area A is an on-site landfill that operated between the 1930s and 1973.
Area B is an on-site landfill that operated between 1973 and 1978.
Area C consists of three covered pits that contained the remains of laboratory and production samples, distillation tars, and waste solvents. The two northern pits were excavated in March 1981 and the contents were trucked off site to a landfill in Pinewood, South Carolina. Removal of the remaining pit was conducted in 1983. After excavation activities, area C was regraded and planted with grass.
Area D formerly contained two wastewater settling ponds. The ponds were taken from service in 1966; one was cleaned out in 1973 and the other between 1976 and 1977. This area currently holds a lined fresh-water pond and a fuel oil storage tank.
Area E is located down-gradient of the old plant and manufacturing area. No waste is known to have been disposed of in this area. However, there is evidence of organic contamination in the ground water.
EPA finalized a Record of Decision for the site in 1987. Major cleanup elements for the site included:
- Extraction, treatment and discharge of ground water for all five areas.
- For Area D, excavation and off-site incineration.
- For Area B, capping.
- for Area C, implementation of one of the following after treatability studies have been undertaken - 1) flushing; 2) soil washing; 3) thermal processing and 4) in-situ steam stripping, and excavation and off-site incineration.
The initial cleanup approach for Area C was an interim action. A 1994 Explanation of Significant Difference selected in-situ flushing with the flushing water being captured and treated by the existing ground water treatment system as the final cleanup approach for Area C.
Cleanup Progress
The ground water pump-and-treat system was installed in 1990. A total of 11 recovery wells were installed. The treatment is biological degradation and aeration via an existing RCRA treatment facility.
The extraction systems for Areas A-E were started in April through June of 1990.
The installation of the asphalt cap for Area B was completed in October 1989.
During the installation of the in-situ vacuum extraction system in September 1990 at Area C, unknown waste materials were encountered. Exploratory trenching revealed the presence of buried drums, glass jars containing "chemical crystals" and a tar-like substance in one central location. Sandoz hired a firm to remove the buried drums and contaminated soil. The excavated drums were emptied and disposed of as non-hazardous waste at the GSX Pinewood landfill. The contents of the drums were combined and disposed of using a fuel blending process.
Area D, the last area to be treated, was treated via excavation and off-site treatment in 1999. A total of 397 tons of soil were removed.
A Preliminary Close Out Report for the site was signed on September 29, 1999.
Three Five-Year Reviews (FYRs) have been developed for the site - 1996, 2002, and 2007. The 2007 FYR found that the remedy is protective in the short term, but recommended follow-up actions to analyze the extraction wells for their effectiveness in addressing ground water contamination as well as to evaluate the type of institutional controls that could be implemented at the site.
Enforcement Activities
In February 1986, EPA and Sandoz entered into an Administrative Order on Consent to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasible Study (RI/FS), to evaluate the extent of the contamination present in the ground water and the threat to public health and the environment.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Martin-Marietta/ Sodyeco 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, interviews, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
Ground water extraction and treatment continues at the site.
The next FYR for the site is scheduled for 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.
Mt. Holley Public Library
235 West Catawba Ave.
Mt. Holley, NC 28120
Administrative Record Index
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.