PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
MEDLEY FARMS
GAFFNEY, CHEROKEE COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA
The Medley Farm site (Medley) is located in Cherokee County, near the town of Gaffney, South Carolina. The site consists of a 7-acre parcel of land within a 61.9 acre tract of farmland. Based upon available information, the site was maintained as woods and pasture land prior to the mid-1970s. The site was used by several industrial firms from 1973 to 1976 to dispose of a variety of chemicals in drums and in unlined lagoons. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an emergency clean-up of the site in 1983. This involved the removal of approximately 5,383 55-gallon drums and 15-gallon containers (many of which were leaking), 70,000 gallons of contaminated water from 6 on-site lagoons (which were backfilled after they were drained), and an undetermined amount of surface soil. The site was proposed for inclusion into the NPL in June 1986 and was included in March 1989.
No public concerns have been expressed in many years. In 1983, after the site clean-up, four local residents expressed concerns about the possible contamination of their private drinking water wells and the possible health effects that could result from its use. Municipal water has been made available to the residents.
Environmental contamination appears to be confined to the site. Contaminants identified as being of concern at the Medley site include: benzene, chlorinated aliphatic compounds (CACs), and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene. Although the site is unrestricted, access is limited through the owner's driveway. Thus, exposures to the general public are unlikely.
The site is classified as being a no apparent public health hazard because the available data do not indicate that humans are being exposed to levels of contamination that would be expected to cause adverse health effects. The groundwater plume is restricted to the site, and exposures to surface soil are unlikely.
We recommend that local drinking water wells be sampled and that all possible sources of contamination in the area unrelated to the site be identified. SCDHEC will also restrict the issuance of well drilling permits for drinking water wells within the area of groundwater contamination.
This public health assessment was reviewed by the ATSDR Health Activities
Recommendation
Panel (HARP). The review recommended that the local private well owners need information
about
the potential for exposures to contaminants found in these wells. HARP does not recommend
additional actions at this time. ATSDR and SCDHEC will review additional data as they become
available.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), under a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), will evaluate the public health significance of this site. SCDHEC will determine whether health effects are possible and will recommend actions to reduce or prevent possible health effects. ATSDR, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is authorized by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to conduct public health assessments at hazardous waste sites.
A. Site Description and History
The Medley Farm National Priorities List (NPL) site is a 7-acre section of the Medley Farm which occupies 61.9 acres of rural land. The site is located on Burnt Gin Road (County Road 72), approximately 5 miles south of Gaffney, South Carolina (Figure 1, Appendix A). The Medley site is situated on top of a small hill. The site is covered with weeds, briars, and small scrub trees. The remainder of the Medley property is hilly and consists of dense forests and pasture land. The land surrounding the site slopes off steeply to the east and south. The site topographic features are presented on Figure 2. Site access is unrestricted, with limited vehicular access through the property owner's driveway.
Topographic maps indicate that surface drainage occurs to the northeast and east, to the southeast, and to the south and southwest into tributaries of Jones Creek (Figure 3). These drainage areas are fed by smaller, intermittent ravines and ditches surrounding the site. Surface drainage from the Medley Farm property eventually discharges to Jones Creek. Water level measurements indicate that groundwater flow is primarily to the southeast towards Jones Creek. Jones Creek and its tributaries serve as zones of groundwater discharge from the site (RI/FS, December 1990).
Several industrial firms disposed of a variety of chemicals in drums and in unlined lagoons on the site from 1973 to 1976. The former drum disposal areas and lagoons are presented in Figure 4. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) first became aware of the Medley site in 1981 when a firm, complying with Superfund's waste disposal notification clauses, reported its use of Medley Farms for the disposal of its hazardous wastes to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In May 1983, an anonymous caller informed SCDHEC that barrels were being disposed of on the site.
When SCDHEC visited the site, approximately 5,383 55-gallon drums, 15-gallon containers, and six unlined lagoons were found. Some of the drums and containers were empty; however, many contained chemical residues and several were rusted and leaking. The six on-site lagoons contained approximately 70,000 gallons of water mixed with an unknown quantity of waste materials.
At SCDHEC's request, EPA conducted an emergency clean-up of the site from June to July 1983. They removed approximately 5,383 55-gallon drums and 15-gallon containers (many of which were leaking), 70,000 gallons of contaminated water from 6 on-site lagoons (which were backfilled after they were drained), and an undetermined amount of surface soil. The lagoons were drained and backfilled with clean earth and/or graded to the surrounding site topography. All waste materials were transported to an authorized hazardous waste disposal facility.
EPA analyses of the drums, containers, and lagoon wastes removed from the site revealed alcohols, acids, bases, industrial solvents, insoluble organic compounds such as polyesters and resins, and small quantities of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In January 1988, EPA and five potentially responsible parties (PRPs) signed an Administrative Consent Order requiring the PRPs to conduct a Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study (RI/FS). An RI/FS evaluates the nature and extent of contamination at the site and considers the various options for site remediation. Sirrine performed Phase I sampling of the Remedial Investigation from October 1988 to January 1990 and Phase II from July to November 1990.
EPA proposed Medley for inclusion to the NPL in June 1986 and added it (to the NPL) in March 1989. Under a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), SCDHEC conducted a Preliminary Health Assessment of the site in 1988.
The Preliminary Health Assessment conducted in 1988 was written before the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was finalized. At that time the Preliminary Health Assessment classified the site as "being of potential health concern because of the possibility of human exposure to hazardous substances at concentrations which may result in adverse health effects". In 1988, we could not determine the extent of contamination nor could we define the exposure pathways. We recommended that a RI/FS be conducted to provide additional groundwater, surface water, sediment, and soil sampling data.
The RI/FS was completed in 1991. This Public Health Assessment will further characterize the public health impact from this site using the data generated by the RI/FS.
SCDHEC staff, consisting of Edward Gregory, Doug Blansit, Yanqing Mo, and Angela Gorman, conducted a site visit in June 1988. At that time they noted an open field covered with briars, weeds, and scrub trees. The property is surrounded by forest to the north, east, and south.
SCDHEC staff, consisting of Charles Lewis and Lovyst Howell, conducted a site visit in January 1992. The property is located in an isolated area and is surrounded by forest. We did not perform a complete site inspection at this time. The site is not readily available to the public as access is limited through the property owner's driveway. We noted that municipal water is available along the length of Burnt Gin Road (Figure 3).
Prior surface soil clean-up activities appear to have removed any obvious signs of contamination, although we noted small discolored areas on the surface soil during our site visit. On the south side of the site, there was a purple-colored patch of surface soil (substance unknown) approximately 3 feet in diameter. We also noted small patches of a resin-like dust scattered throughout the site.
There was no evidence of trespassers even though the site is not restricted. However, the site does not appear to be readily accessible to the public since it is adjacent to the property owner's house and bordered by forest on the other three sides.
C. Demographics, Land Use, and Natural Resource Use
Demographics
At the time of the 1990 Census, an estimated 1,000 persons lived within a 2-mile radius of the site. Approximately 212 people lived within 1 mile. The property owners live approximately 100 feet west of the site. Census data for the area within the 1-mile and 2-mile radius of the site are found in Table 1 (Appendix B).
The city of Gaffney, with a 1990 population of 13,145, is located 5 miles to the north. There are a few new homes in the Medley area but no signs of large-scale population growth were noted. Current Census figures for the population of Cherokee County are 44,506.
The area within the 2-mile radius is predominantly rural except for a small section on the outskirts of Gaffney. Residential housing consists almost entirely of single-family units. About 7% of owner-occupied housing units in the area were worth less than $25,000 in 1980 (state median was $61,100), while some 53% of renter-occupied units were under $150 per month (state median was $276 per month). These figures are indicative of middle income households.
A*. Demographics for 1-mile radius
Total Population: 212
Median Age: 33
B*. Demographics for 2-mile radius
Total Population: 1,003
Median Age: 35
| % White |
% Black |
% Other |
% <10 yrs |
% 65+ yrs |
% Rental Units <$150/ month ** |
% Houses <$25,000 |
% Renter- Occupied |
| A* 95 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 43 | 6 | 8 |
| B* 95 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 53 | 7 | 12 |
C. Cherokee County
Total Population: 44,506
Land Use
Land use in the vicinity of the site is primarily agricultural with scattered residents. SCDHEC staff conducted a drive-through visit of the area surrounding the site to determine local land-use patterns. We saw no factories or industrial facilities within a 4-mile radius of the site. A few service stations and convenience stores were noted. Two elementary schools are located approximately 2 miles from the site, one to the north and one to the west. Many homes have gardens and some livestock, but there was little evidence of commercial agricultural activity. We saw people fishing in Thicketty Creek, approximately 1.5 mile from the site (see Figure 1). We also found empty shotgun shells near the site, which could indicate hunting in the area.
Natural Resource Use
Residents in the vicinity of the Medley Farms site use groundwater for drinking and other domestic purposes. There are six private residential drinking water wells located within a 1-mile radius of Medley Farms; these are wells 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (Figure 3). Figure 3 also presents the approximate locations of the municipal water supply lines in this area.
Jones Creek is located approximately 500 to 1,000 feet downgradient of the former disposal area. It is not large enough to sustain fishing and is the only source of perennial surface water within the proximity of the site.
No health outcome data for the Medley Farms site is available for review as of August, 1991.
We
contacted the Cherokee County Health Department, the Environmental Quality Control District
Office, and the Appalachia III District Office for information on health outcome data relevant to
the
site area. These offices and the State Health Office had no health outcome data for the immediate
site area.
After the 1983 site clean up, four local residents with private drinking wells contacted SCDHEC. They were concerned about possible contamination of their private wells and the health effects to their families that could incur from this contamination. SCDHEC responded by sampling these wells in 1984; the results will be discussed further in the Environmental Contamination Section of this document. Additional monitoring of these wells has not been performed since 1984. While municipal water supply lines are accessible, there are still some homes that are using private wells.
The Medley Farm Site Public Health Assessment was available for review and public comment from October 15, 1992 to November 16, 1992. Copies of the public health assessment were available to the community/interested parties at the Cherokee County Library, Gaffney City Hall, and the Division of Health Hazard Evaluation at SCDHEC in Columbia. Additionally, news releases were sent to all of the weekly and daily newspapers in the state, all television networks in the state, the Associated Press, and the South Carolina Radio network. This comment period was intended to give the public and/or interested parties an opportunity to voice additional concerns or make comments pertaining to the Medley Farm Site Public Health Assessment. The office of Health Hazard Evaluation of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control did not receive comments during this period.
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