The Warren Sentinel

Article date: July 08, 2004

Avtex soccer site work reveals cleanup issues

By: Roger Bianchini

A hitch in efforts to get the proposed Ed Stump Park Soccer Plex site cleared and graded developed recently when workers contracted by site cleanup partner FMC Corporation uncovered some unexpected debris.

As part of a cooperative agreement, FMC is doing the site preparation work, clearing vegetation and grading the area where the fields will be built in return for the use of fill dirt gathered during that work.  While conducting these activities, contractors came across a number of old building tiles covered by dense vegetation or buried just below the ground surface.

Further examination revealed that these old tiles are made of transite, which contains asbestos.  It is not uncommon for older building materials to contain some asbestos, which was used for its strong insulation and heat-resistant properties.

Upon discovery of the tiles, FMC notified the appropriate regulatory authorities and local officials.

Subsequently, a licensed asbestos inspector evaluated the asbestos-containing material and determined that the transite is non-friable.  Non-friable asbestos does not present a current risk because asbestos fibers would not be released into the air where they could become a problem.

While the source of the tiles in unknown, FMC is planning to safely remove them from the area for proper off-site disposal.  As part of this activity, a temporary fence has been erected and signs will be posted regarding the work.  FMC is developing a Management Plan to remove and manage the transite material safely using best management practices.  The carefully structured cleanup will cause some delay in the field development schedule.

The Ed Stump Park site at the southeastern corner of the 467-acre former rayon and synthetic fiber manufacturing plant was considered an undeveloped portion of the property.  The former American Viscose and FMC facility was closed for violations of state water pollution laws in 1986 while under the ownership of the now defunct Avtex Fibers Corporation.

It became a federal Superfund environmental disaster area in 1989.  As the lone surviving former owner, FMC is a mandated partner in the cleanup being overseen by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a federal bankruptcy court trustee.

Under the auspices of the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority, Front Royal and Warren County have become active partners in plans to redevelop the site as a 170-acre business and light industrial park, a 240-acre conservancy park along the river and the proposed six-field Soccer Plex site on 31 acres.

County Administrator Doug Stanley theorized this week the tiles may have been remnants of housing trailers situated in that area for employees of the plant at one time.

The plant was built is 1940 by an American subsidiary of a British company.  The plant produced a significant proportion of materials for tires, parachutes and other war related items used by the Allies in Work War II.  A byproduct of the plant’s manufacturing process was the sole source of certain materials utilized in NASA’s space shuttle program in the 1980's.