The CTS of Asheville, Inc. site sits at 235 Mills Gap Road in Asheville, North Carolina. Electronics components were manufactured there from 1952 to 1986, leaving the soil and groundwater contaminated with trichloroethylene, known as TCE. TCE is a solvent used to degrease metal parts and is also found in adhesives and paint removers. Other contaminants found at the site include related breakdown products like vinyl chloride and cis-1,2-dichloroethene, as well as heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, and petroleum compounds including benzene. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in March 2012 and works on cleanup alongside the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
Cleanup has moved through several phases. A soil vapor extraction system ran from 2006 to 2010 and removed more than 6,400 pounds of volatile organic compounds. From 2012 to 2014, responsible parties installed water supply filtration systems in 101 nearby homes as a precaution. When Buncombe County extended municipal water lines to the area, 87 of those homeowners connected, and the remaining filtration systems are still maintained. A springs remediation system using air sparging and vapor extraction has run continuously since October 2014. From December 2017 to November 2018, electrical resistance heating treated a 1.2-acre area under the former plant, cutting TCE in saturated soil by 97.8 percent and in groundwater by 95.5 percent. Starting in late 2019, in-situ chemical oxidation using potassium permanganate was injected into a 1.9-acre area to the north, with a goal of achieving a 95 percent TCE reduction over three to five years. Responsible parties have spent roughly 9 million dollars on these interim efforts.
EPA assessments find that human exposure to contaminants is currently under control, with no unacceptable exposure pathways identified. However, data on groundwater movement is not yet sufficient to confirm whether contaminated groundwater migration has stabilized. Physical construction is not yet complete, and a final site-wide remedy will be chosen after the current technologies have operated long enough to show what contamination remains. Remedial action on the drinking water operable unit is estimated to finish between October and December 2027.
About 44.89 acres of the 53.54-acre property were redeveloped into a residential subdivision called Southside Village in the late 1990s. The remaining 8.65 acres, which held the former manufacturing operations, are fenced and vacant. Zoning restrictions and physical fencing serve as institutional controls to limit exposure while cleanup continues.
Community members can stay involved through several channels. The EPA distributes Community Updates by email. In 2013, the EPA awarded a Technical Assistance Grant to the local POWER Action Group, which funds a technical advisor to help residents understand site reports and cleanup plans. Questions can be directed to the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Brenda Bonner, or Remedial Project Manager, Craig Zeller.
