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VX dumping blocked for now
By TRISH GRABER
The U.S. Army's plan to ship the neutralized byproduct of a deadly nerve agent to Salem County for treatment and then dump it in the Delaware River has been blocked pending a federal review.
Locally sponsored legislation calls for the plan, which would treat four million gallons of the VX nerve agent byproduct at the DuPont Chambers Works Plant in Deepwater, to endure further scrutiny by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, before moving forward.
"I believe strongly that there are too many risks and too many unanswered questions," said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st Dist., of Haddon Heights, who along with Reps. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd Dist., of Ventnor and Jim Saxton, R-3rd Dist., of Mount Holly, sponsored the amendment included in a comprehensive defense bill signed this week by President Bush.
The Army plans to neutralize the VX nerve agent byproduct at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana and truck it to Deepwater for a second round of treatment before it is released into the Delaware River.
The U.S. government called for the accelerated demolition of all chemical weapon stockpiles in the country after Sept. 11, 2001 to relieve the risk of potential terrorist attacks. An international agreement prior to that requires that all chemical weapons stockpiles are destroyed by 2012.
While lawmakers recognize that the nerve agent must be destroyed, they are calling on the Army to keep it on-site in Indiana, a process they say is the safest way to dispose of the material.
A DuPont spokesman, however, said the company is confident it can handle disposal of the byproduct at the Chambers Works, the largest wastewater treatment facility of its kind in the country.
"We wouldn't be involved in this unless it could be handled safely and effectively," said company spokesman Anthony Farina.
Farina said DuPont has actively participated in the GAO's review in the past few months, providing officials with information and conducting tours of the facility. He said he expects the GAO's report to be issued this year.
The project could not move forward until 60 days after the GAO releases the report, officials said.
LoBiondo said that even if that report does not halt the VX byproduct shipment, the legislators have not exhausted all preventative measures.
Additional legislation and court action are possibilities, the lawmakers said.
Tracy Carluccio, of the Delaware RiverKeeper Network, called the plan to ship the byproduct here "ill-conceived and reckless." She said the environmental group is also prepared take the matter to the courts if necessary.
"We will be vigilant until this proposal is permanently dead," she said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Center for Disease Control have approved the plan, but lawmakers believe all potential risks have not been addressed.
Andrews said the previous reports base findings on assumptions that the process will go as planned by the Army, without actually testing those assumptions.
The lawmakers also questioned the Army's economic rationale for choosing to dispose of the byproduct here, after calling it the cheapest plan.
"In almost three years, I have yet to hear the Army explicitly say, 'This is how much it would cost,'" Andrews said.
While the Army has released the cost savings for the disposal at Deepwater -- an estimated $347 million savings -- it has not released the base cost of the plan.
Farina said DuPont has signed no contracts with the Army and a cost has not been finalized.
Officials at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana did not return calls seeking comment.
In a statement, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said, "The Army should take note: New Jersey is no dumping ground.
"The Delaware River should be treasured and protected, not harmed and mistreated," Corzine said.
Corzine thanked members of New Jersey's congressional delegation.
"Our work on this issue is not done, however," Corzine said. "We must now work to make sure this delay becomes permanent."