Residents Ask for Cleanup

Last week Bob Epting and Julie McClintock handed a petition to the Chapel Hill Town Council requesting that the chemical dump on the edge of the Horace Williams tract be cleaned up.

The council responded by scheduling the issue into its agenda July 26, when debate on the issue could end with a vote.

The dump, located next to the town's public works yard, has 18 burial pits that hold thousands of bottles and cans and contain waste from UNC's Department of Chemistry and UNC Hospitals. The dump was used by UNC from 1973-79.

Epting, an environmental lawyer, became involved with the situation after hearing the cleanup could be delayed due to UNC development plans for the tract.

"I have known about that site for about 15 years," Epting said. "Everyone has agreed it ought to be cleaned up and here it is, 15 years later, and it's not cleaned up.

"This is not just a matter of some present crankiness on our part."

Peter Reinhardt, UNC's Department of Environment, Health and Safety director, said the University plans to clean up the chemical dump as soon as it can pay for it.

"We need funds in order to clean it up, and we have not yet identified those funds," he said. "We are looking for them.

"The administration is trying to figure how we can pay for this, and we are hoping that we can get started soon."

Reinhardt said the removal of the chemicals would cost UNC about $10 million.

"That is not a definite estimate. Until we get a real design done, we can't really put a number on it, but that is our best guess at this point," he said.

The removal of the dump would involve digging into the waste and removing the contents one by one.

The materials would then be processed in an area that would offer neighbors safety against chemical blasts or discharges.

McClintock, who lives near the dump, brought the petition to the council with Epting.

"The site is in the neighborhood, and it is certainly a neighborhood concern," she said.

"I haven't focused on it until recently, but I think now is the time to focus on it since UNC seems to be in a hurry to develop that 900-acre property."

Epting said he thinks the council can put some pressure on the University to solve the problem.