Former Conbraco Industries, Inc. Corrective Action Site

From approximately 1957 through 1998, the former Conbraco facility maintained a brass foundry operation to manufacture valves in Matthews, North Carolina on the southeast side of Charlotte. Conbraco is now known as Aalberts Integrated Piping Systems Americas Inc. The 15-acre property consists of the plant building, parking lot/loading area, and surrounding grassed land with trees to the north. At some point in the mid to late 1980s, documents show that Conbraco used trichloroethylene (TCE) as a degreaser in their operations. TCE can turn into a gas easily (known as volatile) and is colorless, nonflammable, and has a sweet odor (at higher concentrations).  

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) and EPA have been involved with this facility since 1986 to maintain generator compliance related to hazardous waste management under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In 2004, a consent agreement was enacted between Conbraco and EPA for site closure work related to foundry sand waste. In January 2021, TCE was identified in groundwater monitoring wells and has become the priority at this site. After sampling for TCE in indoor air indicated that high levels of TCE were present in the building, building occupants were requested to vacate the building.  NCDEQ, EPA and the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services shared preliminary results of TCE impacting indoor air quality during meetings with building occupants in early October 2021. 

Short-term solutions for mitigation include installation of air filters and air purification units resampling indoor air, and when sampling results are found below the action level, building occupants will be allowed re-entry into the building.  Long-term solutions include further investigation of TCE vapors and groundwater below the building to develop a full remediation plan (to remove the sub-surface source of TCE).  Site documents from past and future site actions will be posted here. 

Public Repository Index for Vapor Intrusion Concerns at Conbraco Industries, Inc.

• April 8, 2004 RCRA 3008(a) Administrative Order (pdf) (1.68 MB)
• July 9, 2014 EPA Region 9 Interim Action Levels and Response Recommendations Memo (pdf) (941.47 KB)
• July 2016 What You Should Know About Vapor Intrusion EPA Fact Sheet (pdf) (814.65 KB)
• June 2019 Trichloroethylene (TCE) in the Workplace NCDEQ Fact Sheet (pdf) (95.3 KB)
• April 23, 2021 EPA Letter to Conbraco Vapor Intrusion and Groundwater Sampling (pdf) (901.95 KB)
• July 14, 2021 Conbraco Groundwater Monitoring Workplan (pdf) (2.28 MB)
• September 29, 2021 Draft Preliminary Indoor Air Results, Follow-Up Email to Phone Call on 9/29/2021 to NCDEQ (pdf) (2 MB)
• October 4, 2021 Presentation by NCDEQ and NCDHHS to employees of Aalberts (10/4/2021) and other tenants (10/5/2021) (pdf) (721.36 KB)
• October 5, 2021 Validated Laboratory Data - Indoor Air (pdf) (5.61 MB)
• October 6, 2021 Quarterly Groundwater Monitoring Report - 3rd Quarter 2021 (pdf) (3.67 MB)
• October 6, 2021 Conbraco VI Update Email from Shield Engineering (pdf) (96.61 KB)
• October 13, 2021 Conbraco - Validated Indoor Air Review Memo (pdf) (187.79 KB)
• October 15, 2021 Conbraco Final VI Workplan with EPA Comments (pdf) (2.57 MB)
• December 2021 Conbraco/Aalberts Facility TCE Remediation EPA Fact Sheet (pdf) (356.79 KB, December 2021)

Site Contacts

EPA RCRA Corrective Action Section
Kevin Greaney, Environmental Engineer
[email protected]
(404) 562-8568

EPA Superfund Scientific Support Section
Sydney Chan, Human Health Risk Assessor
[email protected]
(404) 562-8907

NC DEQ Division of Waste Management
Eric Aufderhaar, Project Manager
[email protected]
(919) 707-8221

NC DHHS
Ashley Graham, Health Educator
[email protected]
(919)707-5952

Dr. Rick Langley, Medical Consultant
[email protected]
(919) 707-5913