The Northern Virginia Daily

Article Date: May 06, 2005

 Army Corps to clear Avtex site

Last remnants of rayon plant will be removed this fall

 By: William C. Flook

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to bring down the last major structure at the Avtex Superfund site this fall, removing the most visible remnant of the shuttered rayon plant.

At an open house May 14, the corps will announce the day in September it will implode the boiler house, which is the tallest part of the still-standing powerhouse complex.  Project manager Al Opstal said the destruction of the building symbolized the end of an era for the plant.

“This is the last piece we’re doing, demolishing the old plant and making room for future new development,” he said.

The 440-acre site is slated to become a 160-acre business park, a 240-acre conservancy park, and a 30-acre soccer complex.  The land was declared an EPA Superfund site in 1986 and the plant closed in 1989.

Opstal said the EPA demolished many of the buildings before the Army Corps of Engineers entered the picture in 2000.  The demolition of the powerhouse complex is the last part of the corps work, he said.

Workers must still remove the remaining asbestos in the boiler house.  By the time the building comes crashing down, it will be “clean of all environmental hazards,” Opstal said.

The U. S. House and Senate approved a bill authorizing $5 million for the corps remaining work at the site last year.   

The demolition is expected to be a spectacle.  Opstal said the smaller surrounding buildings can be removed through conventional means, but the size of the boiler house requires an implosion.

After the demolition, the corps will still need to remove the rubble, excavate the basements, and fill the areas, a process that could take several more months, Opstal said.

According to a press release, the corps has removed 177 tractor-trailer loads of asbestos contaminated materials, 128 drums of floor sweepings, 16 drums of material containing PCB’s, 134 boxes of waste flourescent light tubes, six drums of waste containing mercury, and 550 truckloads of discarded building equipment, furnishings, and other debris.

The corps also plans to recycle or reuse 780 truckloads of steel and other metals, 170,000 cubic yards of crushed concrete, stone and brick; and 12,000 gallons of recovered oil.

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority recently announced the transition from cleanup to redevelopment at the site.  Officials broke ground on the soccerplex in April.  A marketing plan for the Royal Phoenix business park project site was recently approved.

The EDA is now trying to attract potential developers, one of which would take on the business park.

EDA Chairman John LaBarca said the demolition of the boiler house defines the final phase of the reclamation of the site.

“It signifies to the community and to an investor and developer that we’re serious about this,”he said.

“I feel good about where we are.  We are going to stay with this thing until the end.”