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Beaunit Corporation (Circular Knit & Dye)

Beaunit Corporation (Circular Knit & Dye)
EPA ID: SCD000447268
Location: Fountain Inn, Greenville County, SC
Congressional District: 04
NPL Status: Proposed: 06/24/88; Final 02/21/90
Project Manager
Site Repository:
Greenville County Library
400 N. Main St.
Fountain Inn, SC 29644
Documents:About Adobe Portable Document Format

Site Background:
The Beaunit Corporation (Circular Knit & Dye) NPL site in Fountain Inn, South Carolina consists of a 70-foot diameter abandoned, unlined, former wastewater lagoon and surrounding area, initially constructed in 1951. Total site area is 1.3 acres. The site was used to treat dye waste generated by the adjacent former textile facility. The waste materials were transported to the site through a 1/4 mile pipeline from the textile facility. The facility and the site were vacant for some time before the plant was able to tie into municipal sewage treatment and the textile plant was occupied by Wilson Sporting Goods, who currently manufactures tennis balls at this location. There is no current discharge to the lagoon. The site was unfenced until the late 80's and there is evidence of midnight dumping at the site due to its rural location and lack of a fence. In 1977 the lagoon treatment works ceased operation and in 1979 the remaining treatment works structures were bulldozed into the lagoon. Wilson Sporting Goods also disposed non-hazardous materials that were remnants of tennis ball manufacturing. The site is currently fenced with locked gates. Because of a breach in the lagoon in the early 80's, there was a discoloration in an unnamed stream flowing northwest to Howards Branch. Testing in 1985 by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control found a variety of contaminants in the lagoon, sediments, an area creek, and in fill material around the lagoon. Contaminants discovered included polychlorinated biphenyls, chromium, lead, and a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOC's). The nearest dwellings to the site are Valley View Apartments about 100 yards northeast. Approximately 1000 people live within 3 miles of the site.

Cleanup Progress: Construction Completed
EPA issued General and Special Notice Letters to the potentially responsible parties (PRP's) in 1991. An Administrative Order on Consent was signed by five PRP's in 1992 to investigate the site and propose remediation activities in a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, which was completed and approved in 1994. EPA issued a proposed plan for the site in October 1994. Public meetings, fact sheets, interviews with area residents and officials, and an information repository, were conducted and maintained by EPA for community participation. The Record of Decision for the site was issued on September 29, 1995. A Consent Decree was successfully negotiated with the five PRP's in April 1996 with the PRP's undertaking the responsibility and cost of site cleanup. The RI/FS and the Risk Assessment revealed no significant groundwater contamination and no impact to area residents. Ecological impacts from contaminated sediments at the lagoon led to the selected remedy of draining the lagoon, grading the site, and capping the lagoon area. This action was completed in August 1998. Institutional controls, via deed restrictions, have been recorded to prevent future use of the site to maintain the cap and the integrity of the remedy. A regular monitoring program of wells installed during the RI/FS and the remedial action ensure that the remedy is working properly ensuring no migration of contaminants to area groundwater. The site is monitored annually.. In April 2003, the first 5-year review was conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers. The purpose of Five-Year Reviews is to determine whether remedial actions at the Site remain protective of human health and the environment. The Five-Year Review found that the remedial actions taken continue to be protective of human health and the environment. A low level of benzene persists in an off site well and the Five Year Review required additional field work to investigate whether the site is a source. Field work was performed in 2006 and 2007 to investigate a source for the benzene. Four temporary monitoring wells were installed downgradient of the capped lagoon to assess the presence and significance of benzene. Data from this effort in 2006 led to an additional well installation and further sampling in 2007.  A second Five Year Review was completed and issued by EPA on September 29, 2008.  The Benzene is believed to be unrelated to the prior site contamination at the wastewater lagoon and is probably the result of improper dumping adjacent to Valley View Road.  It will continue to be monitored to insure it does not migrate.  Additionally the responsible parties have agreed to place restrictive covenants on the involved property to prevent the use of groundwater from the site and an adjacent property.

For information about the contents of this page please contact Donna Bledsoe

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