Darlington, South Carolina - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control last week informed residents of Darlington of plans to demolish the abandoned Milliken mill located in the area. The facility was once a cotton mill, but has changed hands several times and since been out of operation for more than a decade. The mill is now contaminated with asbestos and toxic chemicals, and demolition requires caution.

According to DHEC spokesperson Adam Myrick, the mill has been a problem since the early 1990s. “That’s when we began our investigation. In terms of recent involvement, we’ve had a responsible party step to the forefront and begin discussing some of their plans for the site.”

The group that is responsible for the Milliken mill is Vishay GSI Inc. The company has called in WSP, Inc., an environmental clean-up company, to assist in the removal of hazardous materials and then help demolish the mill. WSP, Inc., a Virginia-based company, specializes in removal of hazardous materials and contaminants from such sites.

The meeting at which DHEC informed the community of its plans was attended by many locals, including Darlington Mayor Tony Wilkins and assistant city manager Howard Garland. City officials are particularly interested in the timeline the DHEC plans for debris removal and demolition of the mill.

Judy Canova, the DHEC manager of the Milliken mill project, said that the clean-up of the mill will include both interior and exterior portions of the site. Sediment at nearby Swift Creek will also be cleaned up, as well as ground water and soil beneath the mill, and sediment in drainage ditches and storm sewers.

In addition to asbestos, a number of toxic chemicals have been found to contaminate the site, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perchloroethylene (PCE), and trichloroethane.

Locals had plenty of questions about the removal and demolition process, but few Darlington residents have any opposition to the demolition. Some people hoped that the DHEC would have been able to preserve the mill, however, due to its historic value.

Judy Canova said the clean-up and demolition of the building was expected to take around six months, but that time frame did not include clean-up of ground water and soil. DHEC officials will monitor the clean-up over the length of the project.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Jobsite Exposure, South Carolina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.