
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 30, 1994                   TAG: 9408020019
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SALTVILLE                                LENGTH: Short

EPA OUTLINES CLEANUP PLANS FOR SALTVILLE SITE

The Environmental Protection Agency will present a plan this fall to remove mercury from the former Olin Chemical site, with the company paying for the first two stages of a three-part cleanup effort.

Jeff Howard, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said Olin Chemical officials decided to close the Saltville plant in 1972 after the introduction of stiffer state and federal environmental regulations. ``The company determined they could not meet the requirements and remain profitable,'' Howard said.

Potentially toxic mercury contamination was discovered in Saltville soon afterward. EPA officials said people should avoid swimming or wading in the North Fork of the Holston River and must not eat any fish caught from the river or its tributaries near the plant site.

Before cleanup begins, Fish said, the EPA will set aside at least a month to receive citizen comments on the plan. A public hearing will be held in Saltville.

by CNB