July 28, 2006

VX wastewater not a risk to humans or environment, CDC says

By Tammy Webber

Dumping treated wastewater from the destruction of the Cold War nerve agent VX into the Delaware River won't harm people or the environment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The U.S. Army, neutralizing more than 250,000 gallons of VX at its Newport Chemical Depot in western Indiana, wants to ship 4 million gallons of wastewater to a DuPont plant in New Jersey for final treatment.

But the plan has met resistance from residents, activists and lawmakers in New Jersey, Delaware and Indiana, who want the wastewater treated in Newport instead.

The CDC report, a follow-up to one released last year that raised questions about the wastewater's effect on the environment, comes five months after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said its initial concerns about the Army's plan had been resolved.

"Having the CDC independently ensure that our proposal is safe for the workers, the public and the environment is extremely important," the Army's project manager, Col. Jesse L. Barber, said in a written statement.

An Army contractor has been destroying VX since May 2005 and storing the wastewater in tanks in Newport until a decision is made about what to do with it.

But on Thursday, activists called for a 180-day moratorium on any action by the Army or DuPont to allow activists time to analyze and comment on the report.

"We have maintained that people impacted by this program should be directly involved in decisions that affect the health and well-being of their communities," Craig Williams, director of the Kentucky-based Chemical Weapons Working Group, said in a written statement. "It is imperative that the public have ample time to review and (offer) input on this latest CDC report."

The group wants the Army to treat the wastewater in Newport, processing it in a reactor under high pressure and at high temperatures until it decomposes.

VX has been stored in Newport since 1969.

Call Star reporter Tammy Webber at (317) 444-6212.