By MAUREEN MILFORD
Staff reporter
04/29/2004

DuPont Co. Chief Executive Charles O. Holliday Jr. said Wednesday the company's proposal to treat chemical weapons disposal waste at its Deepwater, N.J., plant on the Delaware River was made in the interest of national security, not for profit.

Holliday, who made his comments at the company's annual meeting in the DuPont Theatre at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, said the proposed contract with the Army to treat wastewater from neutralized VX nerve agents would add 0.05 percent to the company's annual revenues. Based on sales of $27 billion, DuPont would make $13.5 million annually over the life of the contract, which could run two to three years.

Holliday said he felt it was necessary to raise the issue before the roughly 700 shareholders to answer comments in the community that DuPont is motivated by profits.

Delaware and New Jersey officials have said they are concerned that the Army contract could pave the way for the company to expand its business of importing toxic wastes for treatment.

Under an international treaty, the United States must destroy its chemical weapon stores. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the task became more urgent, according to the Army. The Army would like to begin neutralizing a 1,269-ton stockpile of VX this summer.

DuPont said it has patented technology to treat chemical wastewater that is unmatched in North America. The treatment facility at its Chambers Works site was built 27 years ago to treat wastewater from Chambers Works. The facility now treats hazardous liquids from customers across the continent.

He said the company will not move forward until the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency assess the potential hazards posed by the discharge into the Delaware River.