From 1956 until approximately 1976, Industrial Metal Alloy Company, a North Carolina corporation owned by Milton and Vera Goldberg, operated a solder manufacturing company at the Site. The Site’s most recent operable owner, Taracorp, Inc., and its predecessor corporations leased the Site from Milton and Vera Goldberg to operate a solder manufacturing facility at the Site from 1976 through 1993. The building and property was donated to the North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation, Inc. and is currently being used as a warehouse. NK Holdings, LLC was formed in 2005 and is the corporate successor to Taracorp, Inc.
The Site is bordered on the South and West ends by a primarily residential area with and is bordered on the North and East ends by commercial and light industrial properties. The Site occupies approximately 1.25 acres, including one main building, an asphalt parking lot, and a wooded area at the rear of the Site running downhill to an unnamed tributary. The nearest residence is located adjacent to the Site along the western edge, and residential properties border the entire rear of the property.
The Site was referred to EPA by the State of North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). EPA conducted a Removal Assessment of the Site in July, 2005 and an assessment of bordering properties in December, 2005.
Analytical results indicated that contamination occurs in the surface and subsurface soils above the removal action levels (RAL) for lead and arsenic of 400 ppm and 40 ppm, respectively. The maximum lead concentration detected in surface soils was 113,821 ppm, and the maximum arsenic concentration in surface soils was 430 ppm. Antimony was also found in on-Site soils at 2,896 ppm, exceeding its RAL of 410 ppm. In addition, several other inorganic contaminants were found at elevated levels throughout the Site. Several bordering properties, including residential lots, were found to have elevated levels of lead contamination. Waste slag was discovered in a pile at the rear of the property in an area approximately 30'x30'x10'. Laboratory analysis confirmed elevated levels of inorganic contaminants in the waste slag. Sediment samples taken from the unnamed tributary at the rear of the property detected elevated levels of inorganic contaminants which may migrate from the Site.
NK Holdings signed a consent agreement with EPA on September 20, 2006 to perform the removal work at the Site. The removal will involve excavation, treatment, and disposal of contaminated soils from the IMACO lot, the Colter Electric property located East of the lot, and three nearby residential yards. EPA will oversee the work done by NK Holdings over the course of this removal action.
*This Site was completed on October 16, 2008; See the FINAL POLREP for removal action summary and closeout information.
