Martha Denison, of the Civic League
for New Castle County,

Facing a large and skeptical crowd, the Army and the DuPont Co. struggled Friday night to ease public apprehension over a proposal to treat chemical weapon disposal wastes at a riverside plant near Wilmington.

The sometimes heated session, which drew more than 150 residents to Delaware Technical and Community College in Wilmington, mirrored reactions during a larger meeting Wednesday in New Jersey.

Company officials want to treat 4 million gallons of caustic wastewater, shipped from an Army nerve agent stockpile in Indiana, at DuPont's industrial wastewater treatment plant in Deepwater, N.J.

Environmental groups point to claims that the wastewater, called hydrolysate, which would have some qualities similar to drain cleaner, could recombine to form small amounts of the original VX nerve agent. Other critics insist the wastewater could still carry intact traces of VX, a chemical that is deadly in minute amounts, or worsen pollution in the river.

"Absolutely not true,'' said Col. Jesse L. Barber, project manager for the alternative technologies and approaches section of the Army's Chemical Materials Agency. "The hydrolysate is a byproduct of the destruction process. It is not VX.''

The Army plans to take public comment through April 19 before making a decision on the three-year project. Military officials late last year abandoned a plan to treat the byproduct at a public wastewater plant near Dayton, Ohio, in the face of intense public opposition.

"I'm very disturbed that we have to fight this,'' said Martha Denison, a member of the Civic League for New Castle County. "What precedent are we setting?''

DuPont earlier this month released a more than 350-page report detailing independent findings that the company could safely transport and treat the material without endangering the public or workers or harming the river.

But the report has not convinced Gene and Cheryl Rainear of Wilmington.

"We're concerned about them putting poison in the river," Gene Rainear. "That's why we're here.''

Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington, said residents are gravely concerned about the plan. A draft resolution opposing the project already is in the works, she said.

"I promised that I would listen to what they have to say,'' Henry said. "DuPont has been a good corporate citizen. But if people perceive it as not safe, we're going to ask them not to do it.''

Several environmental groups have announced opposition, though others said they are still studying the idea.

"The safest and most responsible route is to dispose of it on site" in Indiana, said Tracy Carluccio, special project director for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a regional conservation and environmental group. "Don't cheap out for a quick fix."

The Army wants to begin destroying the VX nerve agent this year to reduce risks from terrorist attack on weapons stockpiles and to keep the nation in compliance with a global treaty.

Under the proposal, one or two truckloads of the caustic wastewater would be shipped daily to Chambers Works. Once it arrives, the company would add a chemical to break down one compound known to cause foul odors, then process the liquid through a patented system.

Barber said he was unable to release terms of the contract now under consideration with DuPont, saying details remained under negotiation.

Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is examining several concerns about the plan, including:

• A report that even very low VX levels can cause high death rates among striped bass exposed to wastewater containing the nerve agent.

• Risks from chemicals formed during the neutralization that would pass untreated through DuPont's process.

• Calls for more study into the effect that one byproduct - phosphorus - could have on algae blooms in the river.

Newark resident John Kowalko said recent public warnings to limit or avoid fish consumption heightened concern about the waterway.

"I personally think you're going to have a hard time convincing people who used to look forward with fervent anticipation to striped bass season and crab season to accept what you're going to do to their environment and the ecology of this state.''

John Kearney, who directs the Clean Air Council in Delaware, said Chambers Works already releases more than 1 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the Delaware River each year. Approval of the nerve agent wastewater disposal plan would only increase that pollution, he said. "If they get this contract, you can guarantee they'll get more," Kearney said.

Reach Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.