RALEIGH - The N.C. Division of Waste Management has identified the contaminated Texfi Industries site as a priority for clean up due to its proximity to the city of Fayetteville’s P.O. Hoffer Water Treatment Plant.
Texfi, which operated a textile dyeing and finishing operation from 1968 to 1999, used volatile organic compounds in its work. Chlorinated solvents, which have been identified in groundwater on the site, make up the bulk of the contamination. The problem was discovered after Texfi worked with the state’s Division of Water Quality to clean up a 1995 spill from an above ground storage tank.
The company, which filed for bankruptcy in February 2000, has received a letter giving them until Feb.28 to indicate its willingness to cooperate with the cleanup. If Texfi cooperates, the company will be given two additional weeks to complete design measures that will prevent the contamination from spreading.
"If Texfi is unwilling or unable to assume responsibility for the clean up, our Superfund Section’s inactive hazardous waste sites program cleanup fund will be used," DWM Director Bill Meyer said. "We consider this site to be a priority."
Chlorinated solvents are difficult to clean up. Because they are denser than water, they tend to sink in to little pockets underground, so they are difficult to remove. Clean up methods usually involve removal in liquid or gaseous form or treatment in place.
After learning about groundwater contamination on the Texfi property, Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission took action to determine if the contamination had impacted the water treatment plant property. Although contamination has been found on the PWC site, testing confirmed the present water supply is safe. The utility has initiated measures to prevent the contamination from traveling closer to public water supplies.
"PWC is commited to providing safe drinking water to our community and will continue to monitor this situation very closely," said Public Works Commission spokeswoman Carolyn Justice-Hinson. "We are taking precautions to ensure that this situation will not impact our water supply."
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