Meeting this week on Raleigh PCB cleanup plans

The Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation is hosting a meeting this Thursday, Feb. 26 on current plans for cleaning up widespread PCB contamination in the Raleigh area from the Ward Transformer business at the headwaters of Brier Creek, which feeds into Crabtree Creek and the Neuse River.

Last September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its official plan for cleaning up contamination at Ward, which has been placed under the Superfund program for the nation's most toxic waste sites. (For official information about the Ward Transformer Superfund site, click here.) The Riverkeeper program has concerns about the EPA's plan, particularly its failure to address off-site contamination.

Discussing the plan at the meeting will be Dr. Peter DeFur of the Center for Environmental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he specializes in environmental health and ecological risk assessment. Dr. Fred Pfaender of the UNC Superfund Basic Research Program and Lake Crabtree County Park Manager Drew Cade will also be available to answer questions about the EPA’s proposal. Lake Crabtree has been adversely affected by PCB contamination from the Ward site, with fish consumption advisories now in effect at the popular fishing spot.

The meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cameron Village Public Library, 1930 Clark Ave. in Raleigh. For more information, contact Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Alissa Bierma at alissa [at] neuseriver.org or call 919-856-1180.