On Wednesday, December 5, 2007 USEPA received a request for emergency bottled water supplies from NCDENR in response to contaminated Person County residential wells. An NRC report was filed subsequently notifying USEPA Region IV. USEPA and START began immediate distribution of bottled water to 14 residential homes in Roxboro, North Carolina—Person County.
The Person County Health Dept. and NC Dept. of Public Health conducted a sampling event for petroleum contamination related to two former gas stations that at one time had USTs located at the intersection of Halifax Rd and Virgilina Rd; results returned high levels of petroleum and solvent contamination, particularly 1,1-Dichloroethene (DCE) in residential wells. Four primary residents were of concern due to high levels of 1,1-DCE contamination. Four different notification letters were sent out by the Person County Health Dept. notifying residents not to consume or cook with their well water, in some cases not to bathe or recommending residents to limit their bathing times based on the concentrations found in the samples. 1,1 Dichloroethene (DCE) was found in well water at a concentration greater than 6,000 parts per billion (ppb). OSC Rhame was not certain at the time which wells were impacted with petroleum compounds and which ones were impacted with solvent compounds, the decision was made to provide all 14 residents that were sent letters by the Health Agencies with bottled water.
