UPDATE JULY 30 2025 – Read the latest Seaboard Updates, including recent reporting about the Responsible Parties, cleanup Trust Fund, PFAS testing and more HERE.
UPDATE May 24, 2025 – Here’s a quick link to our PFAS TEST RESULTS spreadsheet, with results for High Point Landfill/Seaboard Chemical dump, Eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant, industrial dischargers to Eastside WWTP, public water systems (Jamestown, High Point, Greensboro, PTRWA/Randleman Lake, Archdale) and local residents who have tested their water. And… this is our spreadsheet for 1,4-DIOXANE TEST RESULTS.
North Carolina is one of the top three worst states in the country for 1,4-DIOXANE and PFAS contamination.
1,4 Dioxane is a cancer-causing drinking water contaminant that causes mutations in DNA, and can activate other carcinogens to spur the growth of existing cancer cells. It’s a forever chemical, which means carbon filters can’t remove it from water.
Eastside WWTP, three landfills and the 163-acre High Point Landfill/Seaboard Chemical dump – all located on RIVERDALE DRIVE in Jamestown 27282 – are major sources of 1,4-Dioxane.
In addition to Seaboard, there are hundreds of industrial facilities in Southern Guilford County whose wastewater ends up in Deep River and Randleman Lake. Here are some of the bigger ones:
As the owner/operator of Eastside WWTP, the City of High Point is tasked with monitoring the wastewater and contaminants each company discharges, and it reports the results of annual water tests to the NC DEQ each year in a Pretreatment Report.
For over two years, Jamestown’s residents been advocating for 303(d) assessment (and for the correct water classifications labeling for our drinking water supply streams), but have received no response from the NC Department of Environmental Quality.
SEABOARD CHEMICAL/HIGH POINT LANDFILL
The Seaboard/High Point Landfill site has been leaching 1,4-Dioxane into the groundwater, soil and surface water (Deep River) for more than three decades, and it continues.
The site maps below are from the 2021 annual monitoring report. Deep River is labeled as Randleman Lake.
Groundwater tests in the 1990s at the 163-acre Seaboard/High Point Landfill property found 1,4-Dioxane levels as high as 78,000 PPB, along with benzene, vinyl chloride, methylene chloride and perchloroethene at concentrations thousands of times over the then (1990s) safety limit.
A multimillion dollar ultraviolet treatment system was installed at Seaboard in the early 2010’s – but it didn’t work, according to Seaboard’s Construction Report, which states that “… the available alternative technologies are very limited due to the high levels of 1,4-dioxane in the groundwater and leachate and the presence of high levels of radical scavengers at this Site.“
In the 1990s, when Randleman Reservoir was in the planning stages, Guilford County residents and workers weighed in. The NC Department of Environmental Quality said it was a bad idea.
Local news outlets also reported on the Seaboard contamination. This is WFMY’s report from December 12, 2001: “State environmental experts are investigating allegations that chemicals were illegally dumped that could threaten the Randleman Dam Project. Officials with the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources inspected the former Seaboard Chemical Company. The site is on Riverdale Drive between High Point and Jamestown. A former acting plant manager at Seaboard asked state officials to inspect the site. George Willard says numerous chemical spills and dumping could affect water quality when the new Randleman Dam is built. ‘There were a lot of areas when it first started here that did not have concrete pads on them, that we had storage tanks that would overflow, this material would just soak right into the ground.‘”
THE FIRST UV SYSTEM DIDN’T WORK
After testing at the Seaboard and High Point Landfill site in 2009 (by a company called ARCADIS) showed high levels of 1,4-Dioxane, Seaboard purchased a “PhotoCat” phytoremediation UV system, made by a Canadian company, at a cost of $1,511,600, and spent another $497,000 for Lift Station Number 1, to be incorporated into the PhotoCat system.
In a 2016 Technical Memorandum (see Seaboard’s Construction Report), it was declared that the PhotoCat UV system for removal of 1,4 Dioxane didn’t work. Here is the technical, but interesting, narrative:
“In the original design of the remedial treatment system it was envisioned that there was a need for a backup system to be used in the event of a catastrophic loss of the phytoremediation system. To provide the backup system the Parties requested proposals for an advanced oxidation system to treat 1,4-dioxane and other organic contaminants to levels sufficient to allow discharge to the City of High Point East Side WWTP. After an onsite pilot test that appeared to show satisfactory destruction of 1,4-dioxane and other VOC and cVOC compounds, the Parties purchased a titanium dioxide catalytic advanced oxidation system, referred to as the PhotoCat, manufactured by Purifics ES, Inc. of London, Ontario, Canada. That unit was warranted by Purifics to treat 1,4-dioxane and the residual organics to consistently produce an effluent that would meet the pretreatment permit limits for discharge to the Eastside WWTP.
Unfortunately, the Parties have determined that the PhotoCat unit is unable to meet the performance standards required under their contract and as warranted by Purifics. After making the repairs necessary to render the system operable, the Parties conducted short-term test runs of the PhotoCat in the fall of 2014. These tests indicated that the PhotoCat unit was unable to achieve the necessary treatment limits for 1,4-dioxane of 3 ug/L to be suitable for discharge to the POTW.
The Parties hired qualified contractors to effect the necessary repairs to the system. The Parties spent over $700,000 to make necessary repairs, including reprogramming the SCADA control system.
Testing (by Arcadis) conducted during August 2016 indicated that given the high concentrations of 1,4-dioxane (approximately 3,000 ug/L) entering the PhotoCat, and other characteristics of the extracted groundwater and leachate entering the unit including high concentrations of radical scavengers (bromide levels of 6-10 mg/L), the PhotoCat unit, as presently configured, could not achieve the required treatment levels.
An arbitration hearing was held in Greensboro NC during the last week of September 2016. … despite the Parties’ best efforts and the expenditure of millions of dollars, the Photocat unit is unable to be used as part of the treatment process at the Site.
Because the effluent from the PhotoCat cannot be consistently treated to the required levels established in the City’s Pretreatment Permit, it cannot be operated, and the Parties are not able to discharge any treated effluent to the City’s POTW. The Parties have explored alternative technologies that might improve or replace the PhotoCat. However, the available alternative technologies are very limited due to the high levels of 1,4-dioxane in the groundwater and leachate and the presence of high levels of radical scavengers at this Site.
At this time, the Parties have not been able to identify a suitable enhancement or replacement for the PhotoCat. The Parties recognize that having a backup unit would address concerns that may exist about the catastrophic loss of the [1,4-Dioxane absorbing] tree stand. However, the tree stands have existed on the landfill cap for 9 years and have yet to experience significant tree loss. They are under the day-to-day supervision of a licensed forester, and the phytoremediation system is managed by an expert who conducts soil and tree tissue samplings to ensure the health of the entire stand.
The tree species planted are native North Carolina species including Loblolly, Virginia and Southern Pine and Eastern Red Cedar, which were selected for their resistance to disease, long life expectancy, and tolerance of the landfill cap soil conditions. As a result of the experience gained over the past 9 years with the phytoremediation system, and the lack of suitable and available alternative technologies, the Parties request that an alternate backup system to the PhotoCat not be required at this time. For the reasons discussed below, the Parties believe the most prudent course of action is to continuously operate the phytoremediation system over the next five years as the sole effluent treatment system.
Because there is no known technology available at this time that will consistently reduce the 1,4- dioxane to a level suitable for discharge to the WWTP, the Parties believe that continuously operating the (tree) phytoremediation system while keeping the effluent inside the extraction wells’ capture zone is the best treatment alternative for the Site.
The Parties request that they be allowed to operate the phytoremediation system for a period of five years, during which time the Parties will irrigate the tree stand with process effluent on a continuous basis. This will allow full evaluation of the phytoremediation system, including identification of and the time to mitigate any problems observed. Extensive data will be collected that will demonstrate the operating reliability and treatment levels of the physical system, treatment levels for the phytoremediation system and other important information. This data can be used to fully evaluate the need for a backup system at the time of the remedial action 5-year review, or at such earlier time DEQ determines necessary. If there are any questions, or if we may be of any assistance this matter, please feel free to contact Jim LaRue at (281) 431-3571 or Gary Babb at (919) 325-0696. Respectfully, Seaboard Group II and City of High Point
MORE From the Seaboard Construction Report:
The Seaboard Chemical Corporation (“SCC”) facility is located on the north side of Riverdale Drive in Jamestown, Guilford County, NC. The facility covers approximately 13 acres, including an approximately 5-acre former plant and processing area, with the remaining area undeveloped and wooded.
It is bordered on the north and east sides by the High Point Landfill, and the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) is on the west side. Riverdale Drive borders the SCC facility to the south. Between 1974 and 1989, SCC operated as a solvent recycler, toll processor and waste derived fuel blender, and was granted interim status under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as a treatment, storage, and disposal facility in 1982. The facility operations included distillation, fractionation, polymerization, packaging of organic solvents and wastes, and reclamation of off specification commercial chemical products. Other operations included wastewater treatment, storage of incoming bulk and drummed commodities and wastes, operation of above ground storage tanks, operation of a covered drummed hazardous waste storage area, and operation of two boilers.
The facility also operated three surface impoundments including an unlined pond (referred to as Pond 3) located in the northeast corner of the SCC facility. This pond is thought to have been a major contributor to the contaminant migration into the groundwater from the SCC facility.
NCDENR has terminated the RCRA operating permit and revoked the interim status of the facility. SCC declared bankruptcy in 1989, and the bankruptcy proceeding has been closed. The trustee was unable to dispose of the real property, which has remained unoccupied and is believed to have reverted under North Carolina law to the dissolved former Seaboard Chemical Corporation. Seaboard Group II and the City of High Point have a permanent recorded easement for access to the SCC Facility to conduct remedial actions. https://rdlxweb.guilfordcountync.gov/view_image.php?file=0&type=pdf&sessid=3915fb70dcdba7ca52928a5853a7360c
SEABOARD’S Parent company declared bankruptcy
Seaboard’s parent company – Lyondell Chemical – declared banktupcy in 1989.
Prior to filing for bankruptcy, Seaboard got cited for noncompliance, and the NCDEQ contacted Seaboard’s customers. This is from an April 1998 SEC filing (quarterly report) by Miller Industries, a Miami, Florida-based hazardous waste client of Seaboard Chemical in Jamestown, stating that the NC DEHNR had come after it for illegal dumping:
“In September 1991, the Company (Miller Industries) was identified by the North Carolina Department of Environmental, Health and Natural Resources (“DEHNR”) as one of a number of generators of hazardous material which had been shipped to a site (the “Site”) owned by the Seaboard Chemical Corporation (“Seaboard”). Accordingly, DEHNR issued to the Company a notice of responsibility advising of its liability as a potential responsible party with respect to the Site. Seaboard had operated the Site in Jamestown, North Carolina for the storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste materials for the period from 1976 to 1989. Operations at the Site ceased in 1989 when Seaboard declared bankruptcy.
Beginning in 1990, the bankruptcy trustee for Seaboard attempted to close the Site in accordance with the terms of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). However, insufficient funds were available to allow the trustee to complete this work. As a result, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and the DEHNR advised the trustee that if the clean up work were not completed, either one or both of the agencies would complete the work and would sue the responsible parties to recover the costs involved. To avoid the possibility of this lawsuit, in October 1991, the Company (Miller Industries) entered into an agreement with other responsible parties to form a group to complete the Site clean up work. Over the next two years, the necessary steps were taken to complete the clean up of the surface contamination of the Site.
In 1994, the Company (Miller Industries) joined a group to complete the groundwater clean up (“Phase II”). Phase II was to begin as soon as a satisfactory plan was approved by the concerned authorities. To date, the Company (Miller Industries) has been required to expend only a minimal amount on this operation. Therefore, no accrual has been made for further costs to this point. No determination of the estimated additional expenditures has been furnished to the group members.”
Miller Industries’ full quarterly report, signed by CEO ANGELO NAPOLITANO, is HERE.
This is another case summary from Law Insider – not clear if it’s Miller or a different client company: By letter dated April 15, 1991, the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (“DEHNR”) informed Company (unnamed) that DEHNR believed Company to be a potentially responsible party at the Seaboard Chemical Corporation site in Guilford County, North Carolina (the “site”). There are over 1,000 other PRPs (potentially responsible parties) at the site. Company believes it may have generated a de minimis quantity of waste at the site. Company was offered an opportunity to settle a portion of its potential liability at the Site but declined because the terms and scope of the offer were not favorable to Company. On May 29, 1992, DEHNR issued an “Imminent Hazard Order” pursuant to N.C. Stat. 130A-303 which essentially directed all PRPs to undertake surface removal and investigate suspected soil and groundwater contamination at the site. In June 1992, without admitting any liability whatsoever, Company joined a PRP organization which is funding the removal action and preliminary study of suspected soil and groundwater contamination. In connection with this effort, Company signed an Administrative Consent Order between DEHNR and Seaboard Group members in order to resolve the liability imposed by the Imminent Hazard Order, obtain a conditional release as well as a covenant not to sue from DEHNR, and to gain the benefit of contribution protection under CERCLA. The surface removal action has been completed. The preliminary study of suspected soil and groundwater contamination is underway. Thus far, Company has paid $19,216 in administrative assessments at the site. We have been advised that Company currently has a credit of $3,221.60 because the per gallon assessment has been reduced as a result of newly identified waste being factored into the allocation. The PRP organization has requested additional information from its members. Details of this request shall be sent to Company under separate cover. At this time it would be speculative to predict the nature or extent of Company’s potential exposure in this matter.
https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/seaboard-chemical-corporation
Construction of a remedial treatment system was required of Seaboard by the state of North Carolina. From 2008 to 2016, Seaboard filed an annual “Technical Memorandum” every year with excuses for the cleanup delay.
From the “IUP Synopsis” on page 211 of the Construction Report: As noted above, this facility has been in the construction phase since the permit was first issued. Initially, the installation was planned for the first quarter of 2008 with system start-up planned for May 2008. In October 2011, city and state personnel toured the Seaboard site and were informed the expected startup date was April 2012. Due to non-specific contractor issues, the date was delayed again.
In 2008, a settlement agreement named the RESPONSIBLE PARTIES and established a Trust Fund for the soil and groundwater cleanup and remediation. The agreement is still in effect, and the site remains unmediated by the Responsible Parties.
UPDATE JULY 30 2025 – Read the Seaboard Updates, including recent reporting about the Responsible Parties, cleanup Trust Fund, PFAS testing and more HERE.