The Cannon Road Drum Site (formerly Social Circle Cotton Mill) is located at 148 Cannon Road in the city of Social Circle in Walton County, Georgia. The site coordinates, as measured from the front entrance to the property, is N 33.65252 Latitude by W 83.72062 Longitude. The site is bordered on the south and west by residential homes and on the north and east by a railroad and an overgrown field, respectively. Many of the old mill houses along the western and southern sides of the site are still occupied.
The Social Circle Cotton Mill operated at the site from 1901 until 1982. The mill manufactured bed sheeting made from 35% cotton and 65% polyester. During its peak the mill employed 225 workers. In April 1994, the mill's main structure was severely damaged by fire. Less than half of the 3-story brick structure remains standing today. There are also several support buildings for the mill in varying stages of decay on the 3.84-acre site.
The site was referred to EPA by the city of Social Circle. Records indicate the property has been leased for various types of business use. The most recent tenant used the property to store several thousand containers of mixed hazardous substances. The bulk of the materials appears to have been procured from Department of Defense surplus. In 1997, the containers were abandoned at the site when business operations ceased at the property.
The abandoned substances include resins, adhesives, mercury amalgam, cleaning solvents, paint thinners and some unknowns. Incompatible containers of hazardous substances are commingled together and vary in size, type and degree of degradation. Evidence of vagrant trespass and vandalism was observed during EPA's December 2006 reconnaissance of the site.
On January 11, 2007, representatives from EPA Region 4, Tetra Tech EM Incorporated Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START), and Kemron Environmental Emergency Response and Removal Services (ERRS) contractors performed a site walkthrough at the Cannon Road Drum site. START provided photographic documentation of site features and containers located at several storage areas.
On January 15, 2007, two START members mobilized to site to perform air monitoring of the perimeter and storage areas. Air monitoring was also performed at three background locations which included a residential area located approximately 0.25 miles west of the site, nearby downtown area located north of the site, and adjacent to a railroad spur located immediately northeast of the site.
An air monitoring survey was conducted at the site utilizing a portable TVA-1000 Photoionization Detector (PID)/Flameionization Detector (FID), Biosystems PhD 2 Multi-Gas Meter and Ludlum 192 Radiation Detector. START also collected GPS data for each of the air monitoring locations outside of the storage buildings.
The results of the air monitoring survey indicated that no significant organic vapors were present either at the background locations or around the perimeter of the site. PID concentrations at these locations ranged from 0.0 parts per million (ppm) to 0.5 ppm. FID concentrations at the background and parameter locations ranged from 0.0 ppm to 0.6 ppm. Slight vapor concentrations detected on the PID and FID ranged from 1.0 ppm to 2.8 ppm in the storage areas but did not exceed the 5 ppm action limit for additional personal protective equipment. The gas meter did not indicate an oxygen deficient atmosphere and no hazardous vapors were detected. There were no radiological hazards detected during the survey.
On January 16, 2007 ERRS mobilized to the site and began clearing areas around the mill to allow access to the storage areas.
ERRS will continue site preparations to include placing the office trailer, connecting utilities, and continuing to clear areas around the storage buildings to allow safer access to the containers. START will continue air monitoring and site activities documentation.
High priority segregation and stabilization of improperly stored hazardous materials.
A notice of federal interest (NOFI) and invitation to perform the cleanup was given to PRPs. All declined due to the lack of available resources to perform the cleanup in a timely manner. The state does not have sufficient resources at this time to perform the cleanup.
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