Hazardous waste drums discovered in north Charlotte

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — State inspectors have found drums with hazardous waste in trailers parked outside a warehouse in north Charlotte where they had found repeated violations of hazardous waste rules last year.

In a search warrant served last week, inspectors said that when they tried to search trailers parked on Cullman Avenue in front of the warehouses once owned by Trex Properties, access was denied.

Their search warrant detailed what they found once they got inside -- barrels labeled with hazardous waste and some liquid that may have leaked from those barrels.

It is still an open investigation and they have not found where those barrels came from or how long they may have been there, an official with North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Tuesday.

She said all of the hazardous waste that was found in the trailers has been moved to a secure location.

In February, Eyewitness News reported that DENR fined Trex in 2014 for repeated violations at the site near Charlotte's light rail extension and the NoDa community.

Two workers were at the site Tuesday but only said they were working on cleaning up the facility.

In a letter to nearby businesses in July, Trex officials said they had ceased operations at the location in March and began the cleanup process that should be done by Sept. 14.

The letter said Trex would work with the state to clean up any possible contamination to soil or groundwater in the area.

Eyewitness News tried contacting the company but did not get a return phone call.

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