SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIAL SITES AND NORTH CAROLINA GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

This study investigates groundwater contamination at multiple levels of spatial resolution, and quantifies relationships between water quality and potential sources of contamination. The study's source for water quality data is a database of private well test results collected by the NC Department of Health and Human Services, and the potential contamination sources under consideration are sites from the National Priority List (NPL) and the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Two levels of spatial analysis compare groundwater concentrations of individual contaminants - one county aggregated level, and one spatially continuous level, based on BME mapping of contaminants. A subsequent analysis relates TRI sites to groundwater concentrations of an aggregation of chemicals that are associated with the respective sites. A screening process based on examining these associations suggests eight TRI sites that may have an influence on groundwater quality. The strongest associations emerging from this process are for: Chemical Specialties Inc., an inorganic metallic salts production facility, and Novozymes North America Inc, an industrial biotechnology facility.Master of Scienc