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Ulah Battery Site

All POL/SITREP's for this site Ulah Battery Site
Asheboro, NC - EPA Region IV
POLREP #2
Additional XRF Investigation and Action Memo Concurrence 		Printer Friendly  |   PDF
 
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT
Ulah Battery Site - Removal Polrep

EPA Emergency Response

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region IV
Subject: POLREP #2
Additional XRF Investigation and Action Memo Concurrence
Ulah Battery Site

Asheboro, NC
Latitude: 35.6385953 Longitude: -79.8283982

To:
From: Perry Gaughan, OSC
Date: 7/29/2011
Reporting Period: July 18 to July 29, 2011

1. Introduction
  1.1 Background
   
Site Number: 04HV    Contract Number:  
D.O. Number:      Action Memo Date: 7/28/2011
Response Authority: CERCLA    Response Type: Time-Critical
Response Lead: EPA    Incident Category: Removal Assessment
NPL Status: Non NPL    Operable Unit:
Mobilization Date: 8/30/2011    Start Date: 8/31/2011
Demob Date:      Completion Date:  
CERCLIS ID: NCD981864614    RCRIS ID:
ERNS No.:    State Notification:
FPN#:    Reimbursable Account #:


1.1.1 Incident Category

Time Critical Removal Action

1.1.2 Site Description

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from North Carolina Department of Environmental Natural Resources (NC DENR) to perform a Removal Site Evaluation (RSE) at the Ulah Battery Dump Site. The Site is located along 159 Dinah Road in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina. NC DENR performed an assessment of the site. The state's analytical indicated lead concentrations up to 35,600 parts per million (ppm) in some areas. This exceeds the EPA residential Removal Action Level (RAL) of 400 ppm for lead due to the elevated concentrations of lead present in a residential area.

1.1.2.1 Location

159 Dinah Road, Asheboro, North Carolina 27203

1.1.2.2 Description of Threat

Lead and arsenic are present from battery cracking activities formerly performed at the Site.  The facility was reportedly in operation from 1965 to 1981.  Operations included hundreds of batteries being broken to remove the lead plates and melted in drums to be salvaged.  Battery acid was reportedly allowed to spill onto the ground.  EPA and Superfund Technical Assessment Response Team (START) site assessment on 04/01/2010 revealed XRF detections up to 59,700 ppm for lead and up to 3,735 for arsenic.  The Site is a wooded area behind 159 Dinah road and bordered by a gravel road.  Battery chips and casings were observed to be confined to a bermed area.

1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results

During the week of July 18th, EPA conducted additional XRF analysis of the property at 159 Dinah Road. This parcel is approximately 140 feet by 280 feet and the front and back yards adjoing the wooded area in the southern half of the proiperty were subdivided into several managable grids for XRF investigation. In this manner EPA and Start found that lead levels in two grids of the front yard ranged from 400 - 1450 ppm lead, and four grids behind the home levels ranged from 397 - 2890 ppm. In addition, two grids in the back yard indicated elevated arsenic levels over 100 ppm arsenic. The driveway leading to the back of the home indicted lead levels approaching 3300 ppm lead. 

To confirm these xrf readings, Start was tasked to collect ten samples for analytical analysis and the resulting analytical matched up well with the field results. XRF correlation ranged from 84.7 to 96.8%.

As previously indicted, lead levels in the dump area along the southern perimeter of the site range from 41,000 to 59,000 ppm lead.    
2. Current Activities
  2.1 Operations Section
    2.1.1 Narrative

During xrf activities of July 18th, 2011, the OSC met with the property owner, Mr Glenn Hoskins. Mr Hoskins indicted that he and his wife had recently became guardians of their 13 year old handicaped grandson and were planning on reoccupying their home on August 1st, 2011 when their lease expired at another apartment. The OSC shared the xrf results with Mr Hoskins and requested some additional time in order to secure federal funding to clean up the lead and arsenic contamination on their property. Mr Hoskins indicated that he and his wife were on limited incomes. 

On July 24th, the OSC drafted an action memo for the cleanup and briefed ERRB management and acting Superfund Director Randall Chaffin on July 27th. Mr Chaffin approved the action memo and task orders and scope of work was completed on July 28th.   

2.1.2 Response Actions to Date

2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs)

2.1.4 Progress Metrics

Waste Stream Medium Quantity Manifest # Treatment Disposal
           
           
           



  2.2 Planning Section
   

2.2.1 Anticipated Activities

The removal action is tentatively scheduled to begin during the week of August 8th or 15th depending on task order issuance.

2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities

2.2.1.2 Next Steps

2.2.2 Issues
  2.3 Logistics Section
    No information available at this time.
  2.4 Finance Section
    No information available at this time.
  2.5 Other Command Staff
    No information available at this time.
3. Participating Entities
  No information available at this time.
4. Personnel On Site
  No information available at this time.
5. Definition of Terms
  No information available at this time.
6. Additional sources of information
  No information available at this time.
7. Situational Reference Materials
  No information available at this time.