Public hearings set on DuPont, nerve agent

Friday, March 05, 2004

PENNSVILLE TWP. -- With studies by DuPont now complete on a proposal to treat a byproduct of the deadly nerve agent VX at its wastewater treatment plant here, two public informational sessions on the plan have been scheduled.

The byproduct would be transported from a U.S. Army facility in Indiana and treated at the Chambers Works' Secure Environmental Treatment Unit here.

The first public meeting will be Wednesday, March 17, in the Penns Grove High School auditorium in Carneys Point from 6 to 9 p.m. The second session is scheduled for Friday, March 19, at the Delaware Technical & Community College Conference Center in Wilmington, Del., from 6 to 9 p.m.

DuPont says its analysis of comprehensive technical assessments confirm that the nerve agent byproduct can be safely treated at its SET facility. The DuPont analysis also found the nerve agent byproduct can be safely transported to the Chambers Works from the U.S. Army's Newport, Ind., site, the company said Thursday.

SET Chemical Engineer Todd Owens said researchers examined the process from the time the wastewater is picked up, transported, treated at DuPont and discharged. Owens said the study examined any potential health hazards.

"There is no question that we can safely transport and treat this wastewater," he said Thursday. "Through our reports, we certainly feel the assessments conclusively indicate we can do this project."

Assessments addressed a broad range of subjects, such as transportation safety and risk management, treatability of the wastewater by DuPont-patented SET technology, screening level of environmental risk to the Delaware River and a toxicology assessment of health hazards.

A statement from DuPont concludes that the wastewater will:

Not contain nerve agent since the agent would be destroyed at the Army's site in Indiana.

Be analyzed and certified as non-detect for nerve agent by several technical sources before it can leave the Army's site. Independent international Chemical Weapons inspectors will be on site and in the Army's laboratories.

Not be able to reformulate into nerve agent since it would be destroyed in Indiana and is non-flammable.

The research study includes independent third-party reviews by scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They concluded that the proposed project can be accomplished in a safe and environmentally sound manner and poses no unique hazards.

"We do not accept any wastewater unless we can treat it safely and effectively without any adverse impact on our employees, the community and the environment," Nick Fanandakis, vice president and general manager DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise, said in a press release. "That's why every wastestream undergoes advance testing to ensure that it can be treated safely and effectively."

DuPont's completed study analysis can be reviewed online at www.set.dupont.com, click on SET-U.S. Dept. of Defense Initiatives.

The public comment period will extend an additional 30 days, after the meeting.

Copies of the Draft Revised Final - Finding Of No Significant Impact, Environmental Assessment and Transportation Analysis - on behalf of the Army's studies are available for public view at the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Public Library, located on South Broad Street in Penns Grove, and the Pennsville Public Library, located on South Broadway.

The Army can be contacted at 1-866-300-9034 or visit www.pmcd.apgea.army.mil for more information.