Environmental and citizen groups in six states called on the Army this week to abandon plans for treating chemical weapon disposal waste at site along the Delaware River.

During simultaneous public announcements in Indiana and New Jersey, opponents said the military should revert to an earlier approach that would fully destroy the VX nerve agent inside the Army's chemical weapons depot in Newport, Ind.

The DuPont Co. offered to treat drain cleaner-like wastes from a VX neutralization process at its commercial wastewater treatment plant in Deepwater, N.J., near the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. At the time, Army officials said that shipping the wastes to New Jersey would help improve national security by speeding up chemical weapon stockpile destruction.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on risks posed by the project is due this month. Company and military officials say repeated tests have proven the treatment process safe.

Critics of the plan, including opponents from Indiana, Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, say that the long-distance shipping plan will create needless risks.

"There is uncertainty about the toxicity of the breakdown products of the hydrolysate and no one can predict the consequences of a transport accident," said Jane Nogaki, South Jersey representative for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, "or the long term impact of these agents on Du Pont workers, the Delaware River and its inhabitants and ecosystem or on the people and wildlife who consume fish and shellfish from the river."

For complete coverage see The News Journal on Friday or www.delawareonline.com
Contact Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.