Avtex’s initial building demolition project is almost complete, with 17.6 acres of buildings razed and awaiting burial at an onsite landfill, officials said.

The one remaining building, known as Churn and Mix #2, will be knocked down on Friday, completing the demolition of the area within the Avtex site of the highest chemical and structural hazards (see related sidebar). Plans haven’t yet been made whether to leave or knock down the other buildings remaining on site, according to Michael Towle, on-site coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Last Thursday, EPA held a public meeting in Town Hall to show slides of the demolition project, to provide information on cleanup progress and the status of the landfill and answer questions. About 30 people attended, some of them representatives for former site operator FMC Corp. and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Throughout the demolition, "We were trying to have a zero tolerance level" of airborne releases of dust, said Michael Towle, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s on scene coordinator.

"For the most part we did a really good job."

Ground has already been broken for the landfill, which will cover eight acres, be lined with a heavy-duty synthetic liner and capped with clay or similar material, officials said.

It lies 680 feet away from the Shenandoah River above the floodplain on the present location of Fly Ash Mountain, where coal fly ash was deposited from Avtex’s rayon manufacturing operations. The ash will form the base of the landfill, Towle said.

The landfill is expected to be finished next spring, he said.

"The state has agreed the landfill will work there," said Towle. "The state has confirmed we met the requirements … We’re confident enough that we’ve begun to prepare the ground for the landfill," he said.

Since last October, the first phase of Avtex’s demolition has cost $5.4 million, Towle said. About 10,000 tons of material was salvaged and was recycled.

About 17 acres, or 740,000 square feet of building debris and 160,000 yards of waste is awaiting disposal. In addition, about 40,000 cubic yards is toxic material awaiting a determination as to whether it will be treated onsite or hauled offsite, Towle said.

Mountains of construction debris onsite are now what’s left of structures formerly know as "Acid Heat," "Acid Collection," "Staple Lines," "Box Shop," "Double Deck Spinning," ‘Viscose Cellar," "Mercerizing," and "Churn and Mix #1," EPA officials said.

Much of the waste has been separated into piles of waste according to its composition. "There’s 12 piles that can go into the landfill," he said.

But for other piles, their destination is presently undetermined.

A decision hasn’t been made on what to do with 10,000 cubic yards of asbestos.

Asbestos remains a

high-hazard problem

"The worst thing we have on the ground from a hazard standpoint is asbestos," Towle said. "That’s right on the soil. Also the metals. Those are on the piles in the soil. Straight acids and caustic salts are in the piles."

While a determination hasn’t been made as to what to do with all the waste, most of the nastiest stuff will go offsite, according to Towle.

"A lot of it will be shipped offsite, including drums, containers, PCB oil, and transformers still inside the buildings, and high-hazard liquids."

Officials are taking careful measures to prevent the migration of run-off from waste piles that are left out-side while their fate is being decided..

When the piles contain toxic waste, the piles are first lined with synthetic materials, Towle said. If a pile, however, is non-hazardous, it may be deposited in an area where the soil is compacted to prevent the waste from migrating into under-ground streams, he said.

"What are we doing to prevent the migration of materials into the ground water? We’re removing the uncontrolled source – the drains and sewers. We’ve taken the source material that was dribbling into the ground water, and moving it into the piles on the site. In a sense we have just moved it" from one site to an-other, he concealed.

But when it’s moved, it’s moved to a place where the leachate, or runoff, can be handled safely.

‘We have stabilized all the significant things."

Already, about one million gallons of liquid wastes has been treated at the onsite wastewater treatment plant operated FMC Corp. Once the waste-tainted runoff is rendered non-hazardous, it is discharged into the Shenandoah River, he said.

Contractors have taken precautions, such as erecting berms and covering storm drains, to prevent the spread of toxic substances during the demolition project.

The demolition process involved removal of high hazard liquids and items containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) a known carcinogen.

EPA contractors demolished structures while using thousands of gallons of water each day to spray on the materials and reduce emissions of non-hazardous and toxic dust, officials said.

Tanks, structural steel and similar bulky items were removed and decontaminated.

Fred Foster, head of the local Warren County Redevelopment Board, asked of the area east of Avtex is now considered clean so it can be developed. "The land that I passed over, yes," said Towle. A power plant at the site is structurally in good shape, he added.

"Is there a certain area you can turn loose" so it can e feed from cleanup liability issues, asked Front Royal Councilman Walter Duncan. Duncan is among local officials who are seeking to have part of Avtex declared clean so it can be profitably re-used.

"We’re making progress on those parts," EPA Region III Patrick Gaughan said.

The public is invited to submit comments on the landfill’s design through Dave Gillespie, the Department of Environmental Quality, 629 E. Main St., Richmond, Va. 23210.

"We offer the public the chance to provide comments," Gillespie said. No objections have been raised about Avtex’s cleanup plans by the local governing bodies, Gillespie said.

"I live behind the plant," one resident said. "I want to know where the landfill’s going to go, where it’s going to seep out, whether it will cause damage to my property."

EPA will monitor soils, air and ground water at the site during and after cleanup.

In 10 years, Avtex’s operation and maintenance would shift from the EPA to the state DEQ, Gillespie said.