Raleigh Metal Recycling sent a letter to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources on May 2nd, outlining “a comprehensive approach” to stabilize PCB and metal contaminated soil and install two stormwater ponds to manage runoff. Currently, runoff from the property flows through a pipe into an outlet which discharges into an unnamed tributary to Wildcat Branch stream.
The plan comes a month after DENR issued a violation notice showing “extremely high concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury, PCBs, nickel, copper and zinc” at four locations on the property.
The City of Raleigh notified DENR of ongoing issues at the property last August, after an adjacent property owner complained to the City that contaminated water from the site was being discharged onto his property. Raleigh Metal Recycling has been working with DENR’s Waste Management Division on a plan to clean up PCBs and volatile organic compounds in the soil and groundwater since 2007.
PCBs are known to cause cancer. They were used in car parts as coolants and lubricants and in other electrical devices manufactured until 1977, when the government banned them.
Danny Smith, the Raleigh Regional Supervisor of Water Quality Operations, said DENR is currently “evaluating the plan to see if it is adequate.”
