The groups, which include the Sierra Club, the Kentucky-based environmental group called the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), the Community In-Power Development Association (CIDA), and individuals, filed a notice of intent to sue the federal government on May 3.
The action was prompted by shipments of wastewater created from destruction of the Cold War era nerve agent VX. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, VX is a deadly nerve agent. VX hydrolysate, the derivative produced after the nerve agent is chemically neutralized, is known to be a highly caustic material.
The wastewater will be shipped from a U.S. Army chemical stockpile facility in Newport, Indiana, to be incinerated in Port Arthur, Texas.
A $49 million contract was signed on April 5 between the U.S. Army and Veolia Environmental Services, a water, waste, and energy management company. The VX will be chemically neutralized by combining it with sodium hydroxide and water in Newport and the leftover wastewater, known as VX hydrolysate, will be carried by trucks to be incinerated at a Veolia Environmental Services plant in Port Arthur.
Safety Concerns
The groups that have filed the notice of intent to sue allege that the amount of VX in the VX hydrolysate does not comply with legal standards.
According to Craig Williams, director of the CWWG, the allowed amount of VX contained in VX hydrolysate for transportation is 20 parts per billion (ppb), an amount that the organization claims the shipments from the army surpass. The notice of intent to sue also notes the danger involved in case of a leak in the tanks storing the wastewater or accidental spills during transportation.
The concentration of VX in the shipments may be as high as 48 ppb, says Williams, meaning it is not safe to be shipped on the highway, a claim that the U.S. Army says is untrue.
"It [VX hydrolysate] is a caustic substance and the trucks are escorted and made so the public is protected, said Mickey Morales, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Chemical Material Agency, in a telephone interview. Saftey measures are taken. We've talked to the states we're transporting it through and their emergency departments [in case of an accident]."
Morales says the disposal methods have been studied and are being monitored and endorsed by organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, and notes the lack of scientific evidence in the group's claims.
According to the army, the facilities in Indiana contain over 1,200 tons of VX, and 45 percent have already been neutralized. The hydrolysate is scheduled to be transported to Port Arthur by trucks, each carrying 4,000 gallons.
Hilton Kelly, director of the Community In-Power Development Association (CIDA), a community activist organization located in Port Arthur, and a plaintiff in the notice of intent to sue, says he is concerned about how neutralized the VX really is after treatment.
"In event of a leak, anything can happen," said Kelly in a telephone interview. "The tanks can't hold it [VX hydrolysate] that long."
Questions of Efficiency and Cost
As of May 4, 13 truckloads of VX have been incinerated and made into VX hydrolysate.
"It [VX] has been incinerated in the Pacific and in Utah where it was pure VX," said Morales.
However, Port Arthur marks the first time and place that VX hydrolysate is being incinerated, a less hazardous process than incinerating pure VX.
Originally, the VX was scheduled to be eliminated on site at the Newport Chemical Depot. According to Morales, the plan shifted after the 9/11 attacks to have VX neutralized on site and shipped out of state to be completely eliminated.
According to the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, shipping the neutralized VX will increase efficiency and cut costs.
"If we were to do it on site, it would take a lot longer, which would put the community at risk where it is stored," said Morales. "It is also the most expedient from the taxpayer's perspective to do that."
However, both the CWWG and CIDA question the legitimacy of the army's statements.
According to Kelly, the Port Arthur community did not receive public notice of the proposed contract between the Army and Veolia until after the deal was made.
"We did not get an opportunity to know about it," said Kelly. "There was no public notice. It was a back door deal. They should have put out a notice, but they were afraid of public opposition."
CWWG and CIDA claim that other states such as Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio were warned in advance of VX hydrolysate being shipped to their regions, but Port Arthur was not.
"Why didn't Delaware want it, why didn't New Jersey," asks Kelly. "Why didn't Ohio want it? Why bring it 900 miles across eight states to the city of Port Arthur?"
However, Morales says that the information was made public to Port Arthur residents. "This process has been going on for three years, and we've always told the public," said Morales.
Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz could not be reached for comment.
Oil refineries and industries surrounding Port Arthur account for 64 percent of the city's tax base.