From 1903 until 1986, the Site, as well as surrounding properties, was occupied by the Hull Pottery Company (HPC), which manufactured ceramic ware. The raw materials included clay, spar, flint and glazing material. HPC utilized local area clay, as well as clay obtained from Tennessee and Georgia. HPC employed the use of a water-based lead-containing glazing material. The pottery would be dipped into the glazing material and then subsequently fired into the finished product. HPC had used a large portion of their property, between the manufacturing building and Moxahala Creek as well as other surrounding areas for disposal of pottery debris. The pottery debris consisted of old pottery molds, off-specification pottery waste and glazing material.
Previous investigations performed by the OEPA determined that the lead in the pottery glazing material had concentrations of up to 80,700 ppm of lead. During a Site Assessment conducted in August 2010, the USEPA documented the presence of exposed pottery shard and pottery glazing material at the surface in several areas of the Hull Pottery property. A subsequent investigation in October 2010 determined that the concentration of lead at Hull Pottery in fill material and surface soils was as high as 111,000 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg). and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) concentrations over 300 milligrams per liter (mg/L). USEPA also documented evidence of trespassing. Additionally, sampling in October of 2012, further identified the presence of glazing material in surface soils of residential yards surrounding the former HPC with lead concentrations as high as 4,000 mg/kg.
Cleanup of residential yards and capping of the HPC Site began in Spring of 2013. Completion of the HPC site cap and site restoration (seeding & tree planting) was completed in the Summer 2014.
