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By MARY K. BLEWITT
Arundel Newspapers Staff Writer
FRONT ROYAL —Avtex Fibers of Front Royal, Inc. closed its doors last November after the state found it responsible for alleged extensive PCB contamination of the Shenandoah River and revoked its wastewater discharge permit.
The same evening, state and federal officials converged on the scene to oversee the clean up of hazardous chemicals at the plant site.
Seven months and nearly $5 million later the Environmental Protection Agency has declared the plant stable, but the clean up efforts are expected to continue for months to come, and it may be decades before the river is PCBpure.
To date, the EPA has spent $4.9 million of the $9.2 million emergency clean up fund at the Avtex plant. EPA estimated the cost of cleaning up the plant site will reach a minimum of $50 million.
EPA officials declared the Avtex plant stable earlier this month.
“We really don’t have any fears at this point,” said William Toffel, EPA comunications officer. “We think the plant is quite stable.”
However, the length of the continuing on-site clean up extends into the unknown future.
“What’s left? I have no idea,”
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