DuPont plant to treat and store byproduct

By LAWRENCE HAJNA
Courier-Post Staff
CARNEYS POINT

The Army and DuPont tonight will formally explain to the public the process by which the company intends to treat the waste byproduct of a neutralized Cold War-era nerve agent.
DuPont, which runs a large industrial wastewater treatment plant adjacent to its Chambers Works chemical plant in Salem County, wants to treat caustic wastewater from the destruction of VX nerve agent now stored at an Army depot in west-central Indiana.
Since learning of the proposal earlier this year, numerous residents in South Jersey and Delaware have expressed fears that the project could potentially threaten human health or the environment.
Washington Township resident Joan Piciulo has written letters to elected leaders expressing her concerns.
"I'm concerned, but I don't think these people (DuPont and the Army) will listen to anybody," said Piciulo, a retired saleswoman. "All they care about is money."
DuPont and the Army have not released the anticipated contract amount.
The Army scheduled tonight's informational meeting in response to criticism that it did not adequately inform the public about its plan.
A second meeting will be Friday at the Delaware Technical and Community College campus in Wilmington, Del.

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Col. Jesse Barber of the Army's Chemical Materials Agency said Tuesday he will review each comment made at the meetings.
Residents will have until April 19 to submit written comments, Barber said.
He believes DuPont can safely treat the wastewater, he added.
"All the scientific evidence points to this being carried out without any impact on safety or the environment," he said.
The Army plans to neutralize the nerve agent, one of the deadliest substances ever made, with a solution of hot water and hot sodium hydroxide at its Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana.
The resulting waste is a caustic compound known as hydrolysate, which has been likened to household drain cleaner.
DuPont's Secure Environmental Treatment facility will receive and treat about two tanker trucks of hydrolysate per day.
A treatment process using microbes will remove salts and organic compounds left in the wastewater. The remaining water will be discharged into the Delaware River. Solids from the treatment will be stored at a landfill the company operates.
"This particular wastewater is very similar to what we treat each and every day," said Anthony Farina, a DuPont spokesman.
Tonight's meeting kicks off at 6 with what the Army calls a poster session. Videos and other information will be presented in an informal manner around a series of tables.
Officials will outline why they say the project is needed to eliminate potential terrorist targets. They also will detail the nerve agent destruction process, transportation and emergency response capabilities, and DuPont's biological treatment process.
Formal presentations by the Army and DuPont will take place between 7:30 and 8 p.m. The public will get a chance to comment between 8 and 9 p.m. IF YOU GO

The meeting will be 6 to 9 tonight at Carneys Point-Penns Grove Regional High School, 334 Harding Highway, Carneys Point. Written comments may be sent to the Newport Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office, P.O. Box 279, Newport, Ind. 47966-0517.

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Reach Lawrence Hajna at (856) 486-2466 or lhajna@courierpostonline.com