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Site Description
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Stage of Clean-up: Study Underway
Conditions at Proposal (April 30, 2003): The Ram Leather Care site is a former dry cleaning facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The facility, which operated from 1977 to 1993, is situated in a rural area in eastern Mecklenburg County, about 1,500 feet west of the Cabarrus County line. A sample taken in 1991 from the facility's drinking water well, which served 8 to 10 employees at the time, showed tetrachloroethylene (PCE) at 4,690 micrograms per liter. As a result, use of the well was discontinued and a new well was installed. Later sampling has shown that this well also was contaminated. In addition, chlorinated solvents have been detected in residential wells near the facility. Ram Leather Care employees and nearby residents with contaminated wells were advised not to consume the ground water. Illegal open burning of PCE filters was discovered at the Ram Leather Care facility in April 1991. Subsequently, 49 unmarked drums were discovered on a pad on the west side of the building. Drum bungs were found open, and the drums were standing in liquid. An illegal boiler blowoff discharge also was observed. Soil and runoff samples collected during this time showed the presence of chlorinated solvents and phthalates. In June 1991, the drums were manifested off site to a reclamation site. The boiler blowoff discharge was discontinued. More...
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