January 15, 1993

Three points need to be worked out before completion of the plan that outlines how the Avtex Fibers cleanup will proceed.

Amy Barnett, a spokeswoman for the Environmental Protection Agency, said Thursday that the agency is still working on the final details of the soil sampling program, how the remaining buildings at the site will be investigated for contamination and the depths of monitoring wells.

"Soon," she said when asked when the plan, in the works for nearly two years, Will be completed.

The document has had to be reviewed by at least six people before the agency can complete "We've got to make sure we've covered all the bases," Ms. Barnett said.

The plan took so long to draft because the site is so complicated, she said. Many Superfund sites present just one or two environmental hazards, she said.

Because of the sprawling nature of the factory and the number of contaminated and potentially contaminated sites, Avtex is more complex, Ms. Barnett said.

Problems include basins filled with zinc waste that will have to be scooped out, piles of scrap and waste material, including coal ash, buildings with chemicals, landfills, contaminants in the Shenandoah River and ground water pollution.

In addition, Ms. Barnett said, the same contaminants are spread over different areas. A public meeting will be held when the work is ready, Ms. Barnett said.

The work plan is the first step toward the long-term cleanup of the plant. Once information on the environmental hazards the site still holds is gathered, the agency will decide the best ways to deal with the problems.

The EPA will negotiate with FMC Corp., a former owner of the plant, about who will conduct the studies. Nothing is decided yet, but officials have said that FMC will be asked to study the basin area of the plant, soil sampling and ground water and the agency will study the river, storm water sewers and the factory site.

The work plan is vital to the redevelopment and reuse of the plant, local officials say.

The plant cleanup has already cost $17 million and the study is expected to add about $5 million to the cost.