The Aberdeen Pesticide Dumps site covers 37 acres in Moore County, North Carolina, where a pesticide formulation plant ran from 1930 to 1987. Soil, groundwater, sediment, and surface water were all contaminated by formulation, blending, and waste disposal practices. The EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1989. Cleanup is divided into five operable units, each targeting a specific geographic area or contamination problem.
More than 100 contaminants have been identified across the site. Pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, and DDT compounds are found mainly in soil and debris. Volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, benzene, and toluene, appear in both soil and groundwater. Heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, and mercury, are present in soil. Groundwater contamination is especially broad in the Aberdeen Groundwater Remediation area, ranging from chlorinated solvents and pesticides to inorganic substances like manganese and antimony.
Seven companies, including Bayer, DuPont, Syngenta, and Shell Oil, serve as potentially responsible parties and fund cleanup and monitoring. Between 1985 and 1989, the EPA removed contaminated soil from four areas. In the 1990s, responsible parties demolished plant buildings and treated over 123,000 tons of soil using low-level heat. Physical construction of all remedies finished in September 2003. Groundwater is still being extracted and treated at one disposal area using pump-and-treat methods, and sampling continues across all five units on schedules that typically run every two to five years.
Human exposure is under control and groundwater migration is under control, as confirmed in the EPA's 2023 Five-Year Review. Fencing, locked gates, and zoning restrictions limit access and land use at sensitive areas. The 2023 review also noted that long-term protectiveness requires a closer look at contamination levels and remediation standards for two groundwater operable units. Parts of the site are already in active reuse. The Farm Chemicals Area hosts a mini-storage warehouse, a supply store, and a coffee roaster. The Twin Sites Area supports a walking trail, pedestrian bridge, and fishing at Pages Lake. The site reached sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in March 2016 but has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.
Community members can stay involved through fact sheets, public notices, information meetings, and interviews that the EPA and responsible parties use to share updates and gather input. Records related to Superfund work are available at Aberdeen Town Hall, located at 115 North Poplar Street in Aberdeen, North Carolina.
