Jake Alexander Boulevard, Rockwell sites among state’s 72 cleanup areas

BY JESSIE BURCHETTE
SALISBURY POST

The asphalt plant site on Jake Alexander Boulevard is one of two Rowan County sites on the list of statewide sites targeted for cleanup.

The Department of Transportation identified 72 sites and hired a Raleigh environmental services company to do comprehensive assessments of contamination. Those reports were completed in 1996, but little cleanup has been done.

The former Rea Construction site on Jake Alexander Boulevard ranked 15th on the state’s priority cleanup list, and is among the 27 sites selected for “active remediation.”

A Rockwell asphalt site, formerly owned by Jim L. Bost Construction Co., is set for the “minimal remediation” category.

In 1990, state officials had identified a Gold Hill asphalt plant as one of the 72 targeted for cleanup. The plant on Old Beatty Ford Road was one of four operated by Piedmont Asphalt and Paving (PAPCO). It did not make the final list of 72 sites.

Information on why the Gold Hill facility was taken off the state list was not available.

The survey by Geraghty & Miller of Raleigh found low levels of the cancer-causing chemicals at the Rockwell site, but also found that there were no water supply wells within 1,500 feet of the site. All residents and businesses were found to be getting water from the town of Rockwell, including the asphalt plant operation.

It is identified as Site 35 in the state study, but that is not a priority ranking.

The site is off Industrial Avenue and was the location of a paving asphalt operation until the early 1990s.The plant was dismantled and it was replaced with an asphalt tank farm.

The study found that groundwater had been impacted by dissolved chlorinated solvents above acceptable standards. The study found the contamination to be in the shallow groundwater, but did not determine the vertical extent of the solvents.

The study called for further site evaluation to determine the most feasible remediation plan.

The study determined that various solvents including carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene and trichloroethane were used at the facility.

As in the case of the other sites, the DOT periodically tested asphalt when the material was being used on state road projects.

“According to NCDOT personnel, historical records on solvent types and usage for Site No. 35 asphalt testing laboratory do not exist,” the study says.

The testing for contamination was confined to the area immediately around the building where the lab work was done. Six shallow wells and four deep wells were installed at the site.