Ward Transformer Company operated a facility in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1964 to 2006, handling transformers and electrical equipment. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List on April 30, 2003. Cleanup is divided into two main operable units addressing different areas and contamination types.
The site contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish tissue, sediment, and soil. The downstream area (OU-1) covers Brier Creek, Lake Crabtree, and Crabtree Creek. The former facility area (OU-2) has PCBs in soil and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, chlorobenzene, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene, in groundwater beneath the former waste lagoon.
Cleanup of the downstream area is largely complete. Potentially responsible parties (PRPs) removed over 420,000 tons of PCB-contaminated material, with sediment removal finishing in September 2023. Those areas are now in monitored natural recovery. Fish consumption advisories remain in effect for Little Brier Creek, Brier Creek, Lake Crabtree, and Crabtree Creek. Monitoring will continue for a decade or more to verify that PCB levels in fish tissue drop below the cleanup goal of 0.05 mg/kg. At the former facility, a Record of Decision was finalized in September 2023, selecting aerobic bioremediation, engineering controls, soil cover, monitoring, and institutional controls. Remedial design began in September 2024 and is expected to finish by 2027, with construction set to begin between July and September 2028. Human exposure is currently under control, but groundwater migration status remains uncertain due to insufficient data on whether contaminated groundwater spread has been stabilized. The EPA reached a global settlement with the PRPs in 2016 to fund ongoing work. The Raleigh Durham Airport Authority acquired parcels at the site in 2019 for future runway expansion. Institutional controls restrict land use to commercial and industrial purposes and require EPA and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality approval before any soil disturbance.
Community members can stay involved through EPA fact sheets, public notices, and public meetings. The EPA held a virtual public meeting on August 17, 2023, to present the proposed cleanup plan for OU-2. Site documents are available through EPA's website and in paper form at the North Regional Library in Raleigh. Two EPA contacts are available to answer questions directly.
