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By MARY K. BLEWITT
Arundel Newspapers State Writer
Just one year after a federal bailout that put the company back on its feet, Avtex Fibers of Front Royal has closed its doors.
Ending 50 years of production, the dilapidated rayon-manufacturing plant remains a potential threat for toxic chemical releases and the site of a multi-million dollar pollution cleanup project, according to state and federal officials.
Notifying area and state emergency services to be on the alert, a team of federal Environmental Protection Agency officials and contingents from the Virginia State Water Control Board and the Attorney General’s office converged on the plant site last Friday evening when concern arose about the potential hazards within the plant’s sprawling 60 acre site.
Avtex’S remaining 400 workers funneled out of the plant gates Friday evening after their final shift, leaving only a half a dozen workers to oversee the plant and 370 tons of volatile toxic substance.
Company chairman John Gregg notified the state by fascimile late Friday afternoon that the plant intended to cease operations, then shortly afterward turned off the electricity inside the plant.
Carbon disulfide, a chemical that is unstable at normal temperatures, remained stored below ground in steel tanks. State and federal officials later learned that the company had kept the chemicals under water as is necessary to prevent it from turning into a toxic gas or igniting. However, danger exists as long as the chemical remains at the plant.
Officials continue to monitor the condition of the material inside the tanks, and no problems have been reported so far.
“There has not been a release, and we don’t expect a release,” said Tom Voltaggio, chief supervisor for the EPA. “but we are remaining cautious. ”
The carbon disulfide, scheduled to be removed in several weeks, according to Voltaggio, has also been the subject of air and water pollution violations that have hounded the company for the past year.
The chemical will be pumped from the tanks into railroad tank cars, then returned to its manufacturer in West Virginia.
Workers at the plant attempted to begin cleanup operations on Monday, according to a . report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, but
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