Posted on Sat, Feb. 25, 2006

EPA drops objections to chemical weapon wastewater plan

Associated Press

DOVER, Del. - Citing new safety assurances, the Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its objections to a plan to treat and dispose of chemical weapon wastewater at a DuPont Co. plant along the Delaware River.

The agency also cited changes to the treatment scheme as a reason not to oppose the plan.

"EPA believes that all of our previously identified ecological concerns have been resolved," said Walter Mugdan, director of the EPA's Environmental Planning and Protection division in New York, in a letter released Friday which was obtained by The (Wilmington) News Journal.

DuPont has been seeking a lucrative Army contract to treat 2 million to 4 million gallons of chemicals left over from an operating VX nerve agent disposal operation in Newport, Ind. VX is a deadly military nerve agent, capable of quickly killing an adult after exposure to a pinhead-size droplet.

Delaware and New Jersey opposed an earlier version of the plan. Officials expressed concerns that traces of VX, other toxic byproducts and basic pollutants would reach the river even after treatment in DuPont's commercial wastewater operation at its plant near the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in New Jersey.

"I'm not stunned by the decision. I'm skeptical in the sense that I need to review the evidence, and I think my staff has the same attitude," John A. Hughes, secretary of Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, told The News Journal late Friday.

"We did say early on that it's going to take new technology to make the VX treatment acceptable. The treatment level of the original plan was much too low," Hughes said.

DNREC's researchers raised questions about DuPont's original proposal, eventually prompting the company to develop a new treatment step that would prevent toxic leftovers in the wastewater from escaping into the river.

The EPA's latest findings were forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where analysts are considering human health risks posed by the Army's plan. A final report is expected to go to the region's congressional delegations in April.

Anthony Farina, a spokesman for DuPont, said the company was aware of the development and has yet to review details.

"Certainly we've been working very closely with the EPA in addressing their concerns," Farina said. "We look forward to seeing the final report when it's completed and released."

Comments from DuPont in mid-2004 indicated the company could make $13.5 million annually during the two- to three-year treatment process. Details of the contract or government payments to DuPont during preparations for the work were unavailable.

Army officials could not be reached Friday.

The Newport VX disposal depot reported earlier this week that it had destroyed about 11 percent of a 250,000 gallon VX stockpile, with wastewater from the process stored in mobile containers pending a decision on the DuPont project.

Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for New Jersey's governor, said Jon S. Corzine remains concerned about the proposal.

"We're still very interested in seeing the result of the CDC's study of the human impact," Gilfillan said.

Although the EPA found DuPont had proven its discharge would meet federal toxicity limits, the agency recommended additional work, including studies of fish and other aquatic life before treatment begins. The EPA, New Jersey, DuPont and the Delaware River Basin Commission would collaborate in those studies.