Society Hill, S.C. – What was once the heart of the "King of Khaki" empire, the abandoned Galey & Lord textile mill in Society Hill, South Carolina, now stands as a stark monument to industrial legacy and its latent environmental consequences. The derelict site, already designated a federal Superfund cleanup location three years prior, is now at the center of a potentially groundbreaking expansion of the Superfund program. State environmental officials are advocating for the inclusion of nearly 10,000 acres of surrounding farmland, some still actively cultivated for food, into the Superfund designation due to widespread contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as "forever chemicals."

For decades, the Galey & Lord mill, situated along the banks of the Great Pee Dee River, discharged treated wastewater sludge into lagoons. This sludge was subsequently provided to local farmers as a cost-free fertilizer. Unbeknownst to these farmers, this seemingly beneficial practice introduced dangerous levels of PFAS into their fields. Recent testing has revealed alarmingly high concentrations of these persistent chemicals in the soil of numerous farms that utilized the mill's sludge as fertilizer.

This situation marks a potential precedent, representing the first known instance of farmland facing Superfund designation primarily due to contamination stemming from industrial sewage sludge fertilizer. The abandoned mill itself was added to the Superfund list in 2022 after the detection of various hazardous substances, including PCBs, arsenic, mercury, and PFAS.

Robert O’Neal, a local farmer who cultivated soy, corn, and wheat on land fertilized with Galey & Lord's sludge in the late 1990s, recounted the assurances he received. “They said that it was good fertilizer, that it would help our crops,” O’Neal stated. “They said, ‘This is so great for you. You can have it for free.’ And they brought us all their problems.”

The unfolding crisis in Society Hill is not an isolated incident. A New York Times investigation in August 2024 shed light on the broader national issue of toxic fertilizer and the hidden toll of industrial and municipal sewage sludge on farmland across the United States. The practice of utilizing sludge as fertilizer, once promoted by the federal government, has come under increasing scrutiny due to the potential for widespread PFAS contamination. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its first warning regarding the health risks associated with PFAS in fertilizer derived from sewage sludge.

Industrial facilities beyond textile mills, such as paper mills in Maine, have also a history of supplying wastewater sludge to agricultural operations. However, industrial wastewater often carries contamination risks that surpass those found in typical municipal sewage.

Laura Renwick of South Carolina’s State Department of Environmental Services argues that the documented presence of PFAS on the farmland directly links it to the Galey & Lord contamination and necessitates its inclusion within the existing Superfund site definition. Such an expansion would signify an extraordinary undertaking for environmental remediation.

While former EPA officials acknowledge previous instances of farmland being designated as Superfund sites, these cases typically involved direct contamination, such as the application of arsenic-laced bait in North Dakota during the 1930s and 1940s. Betsy Southerland, a former director of science and technology in the EPA Office of Water, emphasized the unprecedented scale of the potential cleanup. “When a Superfund site cleans up contaminated soil, the usual practice is to remove the soil that is contaminated and replace it with clean soil,” Southerland explained. “This is an order of magnitude larger soil contamination than I have encountered.”

Patti Ghezzi, a spokeswoman for EPA’s Region 4, which oversees South Carolina, indicated that the agency is currently in the initial stages of further investigation into the farmland. This includes a comprehensive assessment of the potential risks to both human health and the environment, as well as a thorough consideration of the costs associated with potential treatment and remediation efforts. “This is a large area, and it will take time to complete the sampling,” Ghezzi stated.

The utilization of sewage sludge as agricultural fertilizer presents a complex dilemma. While the sludge is rich in essential nutrients and offers an alternative to incineration or landfill disposal, as well as reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based synthetic fertilizers, research has consistently demonstrated the potential for contamination with pathogens and persistent chemicals like PFAS. These synthetic compounds, widely used in numerous consumer products, have been linked to a range of adverse health outcomes.

Currently, the EPA regulates certain pathogens and heavy metals in sludge intended for fertilizer use but does not have specific regulations in place for PFAS. Maine stands as the only state that has proactively implemented systematic testing for PFAS on farmland, revealing contamination on over 100 dairy farms to date.

The extent to which the contaminated farmland in South Carolina is currently used for food production remains unclear, and neither the EPA nor state officials have provided specific details regarding potential risks to the food supply chain. The EPA stated that it is in the “investigatory phase of understanding human health impacts” related to the potential uptake of contaminants by crops and livestock and has yet to issue definitive guidelines.

Recent research published by EPA scientists in the journal Nature Communications has provided further insights into the severity of the contamination. Groundwater samples from one affected field revealed levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) reaching 1,500 times the EPA’s safety standard for drinking water. Similarly, levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were found to be 850 times the agency’s safety threshold.

Earlier state-level testing had already identified elevated levels of PFAS compounds in nearly 50 private wells in the vicinity. Soil testing further indicated PFAS concentrations exceeding the EPA’s recently established levels of concern for potential cancer and non-cancer health risks by as much as 20 times. The textile industry, including operations like Galey & Lord, is known to utilize PFAS in the production of water-repellent fabrics, contributing to higher levels of these chemicals in their wastewater sludge.

Local officials, including Society Hill Mayor Dwayne Duke, expressed surprise at the state’s pursuit of Superfund designation for the farmland. “I haven’t heard anything about that,” Mayor Duke commented. While acknowledging the necessity of cleanup, he voiced concerns about the timeline: “It needs to be cleaned up, no doubt, the chemicals. But when are we ever going to see the cleanup? All they’re doing is testing.”

In response to the widespread contamination of drinking water wells, the EPA has initiated the installation of well filters in affected residences, and many residents now have access to piped-in county water.

Kim Weatherford, residing approximately 12 miles from the former Galey & Lord mill, discovered the contamination of her well water in July 2021. State environmental officials informed her that the adjacent farm had utilized contaminated fertilizer. Subsequently, her family was advised to cease all use of their well water due to PFAS levels exceeding EPA drinking water standards by a factor of 30. Weatherford has expressed concerns about the potential link between PFAS exposure and the chronic health issues experienced by her 25-year-old son. “My family has been drinking, cooking, bathing and inhaling poison for years,” she lamented, adding that the use of industrial sludge on farmland “should never have been an option.”

Experts anticipate that any comprehensive cleanup of the affected farmland could span decades. Christopher Higgins, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and a pioneering researcher in sewage sludge contaminants, highlighted the lack of established, cost-effective methodologies for remediating such vast areas of contaminated surface soils. “It’s a can of worms that many have avoided opening: How do you do large-scale cleanup of surface soils?” Higgins questioned.

Pilar Charo, the last known chief executive of Galey & Lord, did not respond to requests for comment on the unfolding situation.

The broader implications of this case extend beyond Society Hill. Cities and states across the nation, including South Carolina, have initiated legal action against PFAS manufacturers, alleging environmental contamination and the dissemination of misleading information regarding the health risks associated with these chemicals. These lawsuits, supported by recent peer-reviewed studies of previously confidential industry documents, suggest that PFAS manufacturers were aware of the potential dangers for decades. Furthermore, a New York Times report in the previous year revealed that 3M, a major chemical manufacturer, informed the EPA in 2003 about its own research indicating high concentrations of PFAS in wastewater sludge. Galey & Lord continued to supply sludge to farmers until at least 2013. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson’s lawsuit against 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers explicitly mentions that sludge from wastewater treatment plants “has greatly expanded the breadth of PFAS contamination in the State.” 3M has stated its commitment to addressing the litigation through legal defense or negotiated settlements. DuPont directed inquiries to its chemical spinoff, Chemours, which declined to comment.

The legacy of Galey & Lord, once a cornerstone of American textile manufacturing, now carries a heavy burden of environmental responsibility. Founded in 1886, the company played a significant role in American fashion and even supplied uniforms for the Flying Tiger pilots during World War II. The Society Hill plant, established in 1966 and eventually expanding to 700,000 square feet, employed 1,400 individuals at its peak.

Michael Scott, who worked in the plant’s dye room for a decade, recalled the large dyeing machines and the chemical mixtures used in the textile manufacturing process. He also remembered the subsequent treatment of the wastewater and the settling of sludge in large lagoons before its distribution to local farmers. “They had a truck, and they had a pump on it, and they put the pipe in the water,” Scott described, “and it sucks it out of the water, into the tanks, and then it gets sprayed in the fields.”

Robert O’Neal, who cultivates a variety of crops and raises cattle on his 2,000-acre farm, began accepting the free sludge in 1996, applying it to approximately 400 acres. However, doubts eventually arose. “If something’s so good, why would they be giving it away for free?” he pondered, leading him to cease accepting the sludge in 2000. In 2021, local regulators informed O’Neal of the elevated PFAS levels detected in the well water on his family farm, with one well showing PFOA concentrations 550 times the EPA drinking water standard.

Following the mill’s closure in 2016, the site was abandoned and rapidly deteriorated. Hurricane Florence in 2018 further exacerbated the situation by flooding several of the wastewater treatment pools. Today, the former industrial complex is a hazardous landscape of overgrown vegetation, dilapidated structures, and corroded tanks. Despite its current state, local officials like Clifton J. Howle, chief deputy at the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, see potential for future redevelopment if the site can be successfully remediated. “Imagine the potential if they could clean this place up,” Howle remarked while surveying the crumbling infrastructure.

As the sun began to set over the abandoned mill, the quiet stillness was broken only by the subtle movement of an alligator, a silent inhabitant of the contaminated wastewater lagoons, disappearing into the murky depths – a stark reminder of the environmental challenges that lie ahead for Society Hill and the surrounding farmland.