The Northern Virginia Daily

Article date: August 02, 1996

 Latest newsletter on Avtex on its way

By: Chris Phillips

Front Royal residents will be getting a newsletter in their mailboxes this week updating them on the status of the cleanup project at the Avtex Fibers site.

The five-page newsletter is the fifth in a series of publications paid for by the FMC Corp., a former owner of the site, and is designed to give residents the latest information about how the cleanup of the Superfund site is progressing, according to Caroline Oppleman, a spokeswoman for Washington D.C. based Environmental Issue Management Inc., which puts the newsletter together.

"First and foremost, the newsletter is to ensure that the community is up-to-date on the site and to make sure the community is aware there are resources available to them for information," she said Thursday. "It gives an update in matters related to the site and its potential redevelopment."

The last publication regarding the plant site, which was used to manufacture synthetic fibers, was released in the spring of 1995. About 3,500 households will receive the latest newsletter.

The publication gives residents some background information, the current status of the site and an overview of how the remedial investigation and the feasibility study are progressing.

The purpose of the remedial investigation is to determine the nature and extent of contamination at the plant, which was forced to close in 1989 because of numerous violations of pollution laws.

The newsletter also touches on the waste water treatment operations at the site, discusses the status of redevelopment activities and informs residents about activities planned at the site, including soil evaluations.

It also tells residents about an information repository at Samuels Public Library that contains copies of all reports submitted or issued so far, previous issues of the newsletter and additional information related to the site. It provides names and phone numbers of representatives to contact at the Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental Issue Management for information.

The plant, which was in operation for 49 years, was used to manufacture fibers such as rayon, polyester and polypropylene. FMC owned the plant from 1963 until 1976, when Avtex Fibers Inc. bought the plant.