Thursday, January 15, 2004

TRENTON - A bipartisan coalition of New Jersey lawmakers called Wednesday for a temporary halt to U.S. Army plans to dump a byproduct of neutralized VX nerve gas in the Delaware River.

A cadre of South Jersey Congress members and U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., asked for a 45-day extension of the public hearing and comment period, which closes Monday.

Their reason: Not enough information exists.

"Rushing through the public comment period and failing to ensure adequate community consideration could result in far greater delays than the 45 days we are requesting," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to an undersecretary of the Army overseeing the plan.

"A 30-day comment period will not allow our constituents sufficient time to learn about this complex procedure, which involves one of the deadliest chemicals ever produced." U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-1st District, and U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd District, signed the letter alongside Corzine.

If it moves forward, the plan could result in the release of 2 to 4 million gallons of treated wastewater, which is created during the process destroying the nerve gas. The federal government and chemical industry contend the water is not threatening to humans or wildlife.

DuPont, which is vying for the $9 million contract to process the wastewater, and the U.S. Army when contacted Wednesday said they were aware of the request and were weighing its merits.

"At the moment we're looking at that and we have it under consideration," Jeff Lindblad, an Army spokesman from the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, said of the request.

Under the plan, the killer chemicals in VX would be rendered harmless by mixing the nerve agent with hot water and a corrosive agent. As a result, a DuPont spokesman said, VX is reduced to hydrolysate - a compound that is approximately 90 percent water and the rest a mixture of salt and a substance akin to drain cleaners sold in grocery stores.

According to Lindblad, the waste material would then be transferred from the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana to the Deepwater plant on board sealed tanker trucks to be treated. He said over 1,200 one-ton steel cylinders of VX are at the Newport facility.

If any of the agent is detected, shipments will not be treated, officials said.

Work at the Deepwater plant could begin as early as late spring or early summer, Army officials said.

Gov. James E. McGreevey also called Wednesday for more study before the proposal goes forward. Officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection said they have received no information about the project.

In the past year, McGreevey has increased the protection of New Jersey's waterways.

"Like any New Jersey resident upon hearing of these plans, I am concerned about the failure to consult with the public and affected state and local agencies," McGreevey said in a letter sent to Army officials. "It was inappropriate."

DuPont officials said the company has used the same facility since 1976 to process 15 million gallons of corrosive industrial waste each day. It is currently conducting a similar process on mustard gas.

"We have maintained an open and transparent policy as far as giving information to people who want to follow this," said Anthony Farina, DuPont spokesman. "We will not accept any waste unless we can treat it safely."

Concern has been growing over how to deal with the waste since a post-Sept. 11 push for security and the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which set a 2007 deadline for destroying the chemicals.

According to one Web site, VX can kill by entering the body through the skin, eyes or inhalation.

It was used by Iraq in its war against Iran in the 1980s.