Time is not on our side when it comes to a proposal to transport and dispose of the by-products of the deadly nerve agent VX in the Delaware River. And that's the problem.

DuPont's 350-page study says it can do it safely and not harm the river's ecosystem, and the study has been reviewed by scientists in Virginia and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that's not enough to put us at ease. The public comment period is scheduled to end April 19, and that's not nearly enough time for our elected officials, residents and state scientists to look at it thoroughly.

VX is considered the deadliest of all Cold War chemical weapons, causing paralysis and death within minutes when it's in its active stage. The "lethal dose" generally quoted is 10 milligrams by skin contact, only a small drop, and it's deadly to breathe, too. The nerve agent has another ugly characteristic: It's the slowest chemical to evaporate from a liquid into a vapor, making it very persistent in the environment.

The proposal is to transport a VX waste by-product from a chemical depot in Indiana to a hazardous waste treatment facility near the Delaware River. After treating the waste, the facility would discharge it into the Delaware River.

DuPont says no nerve gas agent will be transported by truck or rail to the facility and all nerve agents will be destroyed at the Army's chemical depot.

Our natural resources and waterways are too important to be left to others to determine any potential hazard, and our elected officials should put a halt to this plan until they can review it for themselves and the citizens of South Jersey.