Chemical cleanup: Robeson Street contamination from non-defunct Planters Chemical
By Scott Nunn, posted Mar 9, 2022 on BizFayetteville.com
From the early 1960s to the mid-1990s, Square Deal Package Store operated at 636 Robeson St. From 1960 until the early 1980s, Planters Chemical and its parent company, Thompson-Hayward Chemical, operated a small agricultural chemical facility on part of the site.
When Square Deal closed and the underground fuel tanks and other infrastructure were removed in 1997, petroleum compounds were discovered in soil and groundwater at concentrations exceeding state standards.
Although remediation work is underway at the longtime troubled site on the edge of downtown Fayetteville, there’s no indication when the state may provide a clean bill of health or what the future holds for the land. The status of the land is a good illustration of the complexity of evaluating a contaminated site and how long it takes for cleanup work to even begin.
According to a spokesperson for the N.C. Division of Waste Management, during the investigation of the Square Deal area of the property, agricultural chemicals and other volatile organic compounds were discovered in nearby soil and groundwater, contamination that was linked to the adjacent chemical operations. In 2012, the state declared the 5-acre parcel a hazardous waste site.
Records show that the companies leased the land and buildings from William Thornton Sanders of Wrightsville Beach. Cumberland County property records show the land has a tax value of $175,000 and the entire parcel – which includes a
9,000-square foot warehouse – is valued at $272,000. Attempts to reach Sanders were unsuccessful.
Since Planters Chemical no longer exists, the state requested Philips Electronics North America – tied to Planters after a previous merger – to clean up the site. Philips ultimately consented and hired ARCADIS consulting to assess the contamination and recommend a remediation plan.
From 2016 to 2019, documents show ARCADIS confirmed that soil and shallow groundwater at the site contained concentrations of compounds used in pesticides and fertilizer that exceed state standards.
While remediation has begun on the site, contamination still remained as of last May. According to the Division of Waste Management spokesperson, the most recent monitoring report – dated June 23, 2021 – the site still contained contamination above state-allowed levels in both soil and groundwater samples in the Planters Chemical area.
“Of all the contaminants detected, chlorine-based pesticides have the largest extent in groundwater,” the spokesperson said.
While the future of the site is unclear, the land is an area with development possibilities. The commercial real estate website Loopnet shows several nearby properties in the area available for sale or lease.
Neil Grant, owner of Grant-Murray Real Estate, said he was not aware of any immediate plans for the site, but he did know that work was underway.
“I understand Planters (or its current owner) is cleaning it up,” he said.
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