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NPL Site Narrative for Carrier Air Conditioning Co.
CARRIER AIR CONDITIONING CO.
Collierville, Tennessee
Federal Register Notice: February 21, 1990Conditions at proposal (June 24, 1988): Carrier Air Conditioning Co., a United Technologies company, manufactures air conditioners on approximately 145 acres in Collierville, Shelby County, Tennessee. Three releases of trichloroethylene (TCE) to the environment have been documented. In 1978, a filter cover failed on a vapor degreaser, spilling 2,000 to 5,000 gallons of TCE. According to Carrier, the local fire department washed this material into Nonconnah Creek. Soil samples collected at the spill site by the State in April 1986 contained TCE.
Starting in about 1972, Carrier operated an unlined, 200-cubic-foot lagoon for storage of TCE-contaminated paint sludges. Presumably it leaked TCE. In November 1980, Carrier removed wastes and soil from the lagoon and sent them to an EPA-regulated hazardous waste facility.
A third release occurred in January 1985. Following a period of heavy rainfall, an unknown volume of TCE leaked from underground pipes. The company recovered 542 gallons of TCE. As a result of this spill, wells were installed at the facility to monitor the Memphis Sands Aquifer. TCE was detected in several wells in January 1986.
The Carrier facility is located within 2,000 feet of wells of the City of Collierville. Analyses conducted in July 1986 by the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment found that the west well for Water Plant #2 was contaminated with low levels of TCE. Subsequently, Carrier sampled both wells at Water Plant #2, both wells at Water Plant #1 (approximately 15 miles east of Carrier), and the treated water from both plants. Low levels of TCE were found in both wells at Water Plant #2. Carrier continues to monitor public and private wells in the area. An estimated 12,800 people obtain drinking water from wells in the Memphis Sands Aquifer within 3 miles of the site.
This facility obtained Interim Status under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) when it filed a Notification of Hazardous Waste Activity and Part A of a permit application to treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste. Later, it withdrew its Part A and converted to generator-only status with EPA or State approval. Hence, it satisfies a component of EPA's NPL/RCRA policy.
Status (February 21, 1990): In September 1989, EPA and Carrier, Inc., signed a CERCLA Consent Order under which Carrier will conduct a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and identify alternatives for remedial action. Field work is scheduled to begin in early 1990.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.