Press Alert
February 25, 2006

EPA REPORT LEAKED SHOWING EPA

MAY APPROVE VX WASTE DUMPING INTO DELAWARE RIVER

A letter and report written by the USEPA to the CDC indicates that the EPA may be giving Dupont and the Department of Defense a green light to move ahead with their plans to dump VX nerve agent waste into the Delaware River at Dupont's Chambers Works Facility in Deepwater, NJ.

The report was leaked to the media yesterday before peer review of EPA's findings was conducted. Peer review is part of the review process and can result in significant conclusions. The EPA is submitting the report to peer review before it issues a final conclusion. The CDC is expected to receive the peer-reviewed EPA report and issue a final recommendation in its report in the coming weeks.

The CDC/EPA report that was issued in April 2005 was peer-reviewed before final conclusions were made by the agencies. That report concluded that the potential impacts on aquatic life in the Delaware River were too great and that sufficient studies had not been done to prove the waste would not kill fish and fishlife. Considering the far-reaching effects of this upcoming supplemental CDC report, peer review is again required.

The report that was released leaves unresolved one of the biggest issues related to the proposal -- the impact of the combined effect of VX nerve agent waste and other chemicals that are discharged by Dupont, particularly mustard gas byproducts that are presently being processed and discharged at the facility. Further study is called for of benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities in the river downstream of the discharge in order to assess the combined effect of the many chemicals that the hazardous waste facility discharges.

The report also equivocates on several key issues, which may or may not be addressed by peer review. The hot button issue of the detect limit of any remaining VX nerve agent or of the amount of EA2192 (a breakdown component in VX wastewater that is extremely toxic) in the wastewater is still not addressed beyond doubt.

“The EPA report cannot in any way be considered a valid, scientifically vetted analysis at this point”, said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper. “Its premature release smacks of strong-arm politics to push the Army's and the present Administration's biased agenda”. “Independent studies have already identified key problems with this plan and many of the most significant issues are still unresolved, including the impacts on the river, human health and of the risks of transport”, said van Rossum.

“We know that there is a viable and safe alternative means of destroying VX nerve agent in Indianan where the live VX is now stored. The Army must move ahead with that plan, which has been regionally endorsed and will not require a discharge to any waterway. There is no point wasting any more time on the Dupont proposal”, said van Rossum.