The Northern Virginia Daily

September 24, 2009

EPA makes its case for next phase of cleanup

By M.K. Luther

FRONT ROYAL -- Environmental Protection Agency representatives have made the case for the plan they favor for the next cleanup phase at the Avtex Fibers site.

The 440-acre site, the location of a former rayon factory, was declared an EPA Superfund site in the 1980s and slated for massive cleanup efforts to remove contaminants.

Speaking at the Randolph-Macon Academy Media Center on Tuesday, Kate Lose, EPA remedial project manager, opened the public comment period for the next phase, which will include cleaning up of remaining viscose basins and treating surface water and groundwater.

Lose explained that the EPA has determined the best option for this phase is to cover the viscose basins, remove the polluted groundwater and then perform leachate treatment.

Basins 9, 10 and 11 contain leachate, or water mixed with the solid waste, that could mix with rainwater and eventually contaminate groundwater, Lose said. The EPA has determined there is no immediate risk of exposure from the viscose basins because the leachate material closest to the surface is not as contaminated as material deeper in the basins, Lose said.

However, for the long-term cleanup of the site, the potential for groundwater contamination must be addressed, Lose said.

"We have identified that there is a problem," Lose said. "There is a risk at the site if we do nothing."

The EPA must determine which option best meets pre-established criteria for the final cleanup plan, with an emphasis on the protection of health and environment, long-term effectiveness and balancing the cost against community and state approval, Lose said.

The EPA explored the possibility of treating the waste with electrical resistance heating, at a cost of $74 million, and performing external waste treatment at a cost of $143 million.

The EPA has deduced that the cheapest and most efficient method for groundwater cleanup will be basin capping, groundwater removal and treatment and leachate removal and treatment, with an estimated cost of $30.3 million, Lose said. This option will treat both the solid and water materials, without the expense of internal treatment or the potential hazards of total extraction, Lose said.

With more than half of Warren County households using water wells, local resident Fleming Heegaard expressed concern about contaminants infiltrating wells.

"The vector here is in the wells," Heegaard said. "What is in the wells?"

At present, Lose said, specific wells are not being monitored, but the plan provides for continued monitoring of the Shenandoah River.

The proposed remedial action plan is available at www.epa.gov/arweb. Public input will be accepted until Monday. For more information or to submit comments, contact the Environmental Protection Agency at (215) 814-3157.