Plan to dispose of neutralized nerve agent causes concern
By JASON NARK
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
A local lawmaker and environmental activists on Monday urged a Salem County chemical plant to file for new air and water permits before it sends byproducts of a neutralized nerve agent into the Delaware River.
DuPont's Secure Environmental Treatment facility in Carneys Point plans to treat wastewater made from the destruction of VX nerve agent, which is stored at the Army's Newport Chemical Depot in west-central Indiana.
The Army intends to destroy 1,269 tons of the Cold War-era substance and send up to 4 million gallons to DuPont for final treatment and discharge into the river.
Rep. Rob Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, joined several legislators last week in asking the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a formal review of the plan.
"This new permitting process is necessary because it will provide an opportunity for further scrutiny of this proposal by both the qualified experts and the public," Andrews said.
DuPont officials have contended their current licensing allows it to handle the wastewater, called hydrolysate. Company officials did not return calls seeking comment Monday.
Samuel Wolfe, the DEP's assistant commissioner of environmental regulation, said DuPont currently is in the relicensing process and may need new permits to handle the hydrolysate.
"There will be stricter standards on the toxicity of the discharge going from DuPont to the Delaware," Wolfe said. "If they are using any kind of new equipment or using any new process, it will require a permit change."
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DuPont officials said earlier this month that it would not sign a contract with the Army until the CDC completes its investigation. The Army's Chemical Materials Agency also has said there would be no VX present in the wastewater upon its release into the river.
But Jane Nogaki, a program coordinator with the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said the plan is fraught with peril, starting from Indiana and ending in the tissue of the fish that call the Delaware River home.
"We already have fish advisories for PCBs, mercury and pesticides," said Nogaki, an Evesham resident. "We shouldn't add nerve agents to that list."
Reach Jason Nark at (856) 486-2473 or jnark@courierpostonline.com