Blue Ridge Plating Company

Overview

Blue Ridge Plating Company is a former metal plating facility in Arden, North Carolina, in Buncombe County. The EPA placed it on the National Priorities List in 2005 after finding contamination from the facility's operations, which ran from 1974 until the local fire department declared the building unfit for occupancy. The site has gone through active cleanup and now sits in a long-term monitoring phase.

The site has 26 identified contaminants of concern in soil and groundwater. These include chlorinated solvents such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, along with heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, iron, manganese, and nickel. Other contaminants include cyanide, naphthalene, pentachlorophenol, and chloroform. Contamination affected soil on the facility property and an adjacent property, as well as groundwater beneath the site.

EPA carried out two major cleanup actions. From November 2006 through September 2007, crews excavated and disposed of 8,737 cubic yards of contaminated soil at an off-site landfill and refilled the area with clean soil. In 2016, a second action removed remaining chemicals, asbestos, and the building itself, along with 3,950 tons of contaminated soil found under the concrete floors. EPA also installed groundwater monitoring wells and continues annual groundwater monitoring. The original cleanup plan for Operable Unit 1 was set by a 2004 Record of Decision and has since been modified twice through Explanations of Significant Differences, most recently in 2019 to update institutional controls.

Human exposure is currently under control. Residents and businesses in the area are connected to a public water supply, which removes any exposure pathway from contaminated groundwater. EPA found that vapor intrusion does not pose a threat to people in the area. Groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Institutional controls restricting groundwater use were placed on the property in March 2017, and zoning restrictions prevent residential development on the site. The property was sold in March 2017, with sale proceeds directed to EPA to help offset cleanup costs. The new owner plans to build storage units on the parcel. The site achieved sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status in September 2019, and long-term response actions continued through September 2024. A five-year review is estimated between August and October 2027. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Brenda Bonner, by email or phone. Physical records related to EPA Superfund work at this site are available for public review at the Buncombe/Skyland Library at 260 Overlook Road in Asheville.