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Shuron, Inc.
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Exterior of the former Shuron, Inc. plant.
- 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: SCD003357589Location: Barnwell, Barnwell County, SC
Lat/Long: 33.236690, -081.375770
Congressional District: 02
NPL Status: Proposed: 06/17/96; Final: 12/23/96
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil, Surface Water
Cleanup Status: Early Action Initiated/Completed and Construction Underway - Physical cleanup activities have started.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Potential for Commercial/Light Industrial
Site Manager: Samantha Urquhart-Foster (urquhart-foster.samantha@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Shuron Inc. site is located adjacent to the city of Barnwell in Barnwell County, South Carolina. A former manufacturing facility occupies about 34 acres of the 85-acre property, with wetlands comprising the remaining acreage. From 1958 to 1992, the facility was used for manufacturing single-vision and multi-vision glass ocular lenses. Waste byproducts of plant operations included grinding compounds, glass, polishing compounds, asbestos, hydraulic oils, motor oils, and perchloroethylene sludge.
Threats and Contaminants
Improper disposal practices at the former manufacturing facility have led to contamination of soils, sediments, ground water, and surface water. The primary contaminants of concern were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ground water and metals, including lead, arsenic, zinc, and copper, in soils and wetland sediments.
Approximately 5,600 people within 4 miles of the site use ground water as a drinking water source.
Site Cleanup Plan
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the site was issued in 1998. Major cleanup elements for the site included:
- Excavation of contaminated soils and sediments to be either aggressively treated on site with solidification/stabilization and aeration, or to be disposed of off site at an appropriate hazardous waste facility. On-site or off-site disposal shall be determined from treatability studies.
- Temporary ground water extraction to remove water from soils during removal of contaminated soils and sediments.
- Active ground water extraction and treatment of remaining contaminated ground water.
- Collection of additional samples to fill data gaps , further delineate the extent of contamination, and monitor that the nearby municipal well remains compliant with drinking water standards.
Cleanup Progress
In May 2006, a study began to test the use of enhanced anaerobic biodegradation as a treatment for the larger deep area of elevated VOC concentrations. This treatment uses injection wells to deliver nutrient solutions directly to the affected aquifer, where microbial populations can convert the site contaminants into their less-toxic and non-toxic breakdown products. Results of the pilot study indicate this is a viable treatment method for ground water contamination and a revised Ground Water Remedial Design Work Plan to include this treatment was prepared in May 2009.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by potentially responsible parties with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
In 1994, Textron, the original owner and potentially responsible party, signed an Administrative Order with EPA to initiate both an emergency removal action and a remedial investigation and feasibility study at the site. Removal work was completed in January 1995.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Shuron, Inc. 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, fact sheets, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
Since the enhanced anaerobic biodegradation ground water treatment was not addressed in the 1998 ROD, EPA is preparing a ROD Amendment to include this method in the selected ground water remedy.
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.
Barnwell County Public Library
2001 Hagood Avenue
Barnwell, SC 29812
Administrative Record Index
- OU-1 (PDF) (10 pp, 397K, About PDF)
- Removal (PDF) (3 pp, 100K, About PDF)
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.