Nerve gas meeting draws few

Friday, April 14, 2006

By JEAN JONES
Staff Writer

LAWRENCE TWP. -- The presentation by Dupont on disposal of effluent from the treatment of deactivated nerve gas drew only a small audience here Monday and only one person in the audience had a question: Why do they want to bring it here in the first place?

The already deactivated water-based material would be trucked from Aberdeen, Md., to DuPont's Deepwater facility for further treatment and disposal in the Delaware river.

Prior meetings in Maurice River and Commercial townships brought out large audiences with many questions.

The further treatment is needed to eliminate a caustic element and the final product will be little more than salt water, DuPont chemical engineer Todd Owens has said.

Monday's presentation was by Owens and Col. Jesse Barber, project manager for the Alternative TEchnologies and Approaches Project, a component of the U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency.