March 29, 2010
Download Community Meeting Announcement for April 12, 2010 6 PM (pdf)
Descargar Reunión Comunitaria Anuncio para Lunes 12 de Abril 2010 600pm (pdf)
Download Holman St Site December 2009 Sampling Results (pdf)
Download Valley Brook Rd Site December 2009 Sampling Results (pdf)
By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal senior staff writer
Greenwood, SC - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the City of Greenwood are set to host another community meeting to discuss DHEC’s findings in relation to environmental sampling done at two former dump sites.
The two sites in question are the old city landfill at the corner of Valley Brook Road and Truman Street and the old Greenwood Cemetery dump site near Holman Street. Both sites are in the vicinity of the Booker T. Washington/College Heights community.
The community meeting will be at 6 p.m. April 12 at the Brewer Community Complex auditorium (927 E Cambridge Avenue). It is open to the public.
The old Valley Brook Road landfill has been owned by the City of Greenwood for decades and for many years certain types of solid waste were dumped there. That landfill was closed in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
During a walk through at the Valley Brook Road site, tires, metal culverts, storm drain pipes and large storage tanks are visible on the surface.
While the old landfill has been closed and dormant for years, it and the Holman Street site were thrust back into the local spotlight in late 2009 after a petition was circulated in the Booker T. Washington/College Heights community expressing concern about the Valley Brook Road landfill.
The petition and a letter about the old landfill found their way to city hall. City officials then submitted those concerns to DHEC, which conducted sampling at both former dump sites in December.
Last week, DHEC released the results of its initial sampling. According to a release from the agency, DHEC’s state toxicologist determined there are no contaminants or concentrations of contaminants found at the sites that would cause “any type of immediate health effect or imminent danger to public health.”
DHEC says its data shows "minimal contamination” around one of the large storage tanks and and a small cluster of drums at the Valley Brook road dump.
The agency is already recommending removal of the tank, drums and soil from some areas at the Valley Brook Road site. DHEC would monitor this removal.
The DHEC release also claims none of the aforementioned contamination has entered nearby Wilson Creek.
The Index-Journal obtained copies of DHEC’s full reports on the old Valley Brook Road and Greenwood Cemetery dump sites.
At each site, DHEC took a background sample at a location removed from the area thought to possibly be contaminated, ostensibly to use as a marker to compare against any samplings from potentially contaminated areas.
At the Valley Brook Road site, samplings indicated a number of metals on the surface soil. Near the large storage tank at that site, samplings of arsenic, lead and zinc were found at levels which exceed Environmental Protection Agency screening value.
In that same general vicinity, samplings of calcium, chromium, copper, iron, nickel and zinc were found at levels that were three times higher than the established background concentration.
The test results did not reveal any excessive concentration of metals in sediment or surface water at the Valley Brook Road site. The test also noted the presence of certain "semi-volatile organics" at areas of the dormant Valley Brook Road landfill.
The DHEC tests noted the presence of metals at the Greenwood Cemetery site, as well.
Metals which were detected on the surface soil at the site near Holman Street in amounts at least three times higher than background include mercury, calcium, cobalt, magnesium, manganese, nickel, potassium and zinc.
Small amounts of arsenic also were found on the surface soil at the Greenwood Cemetery site, though the background sample in the test at that site also contained a small amount of arsenic.
There were no excessive amounts of metals found in the sediment or surface water at the Greenwood Cemetery site.
Residents with questions prior to the April 12 public meeting can contact Donna Rowe in DHEC's Greenwood Office at (864) 223-0333.