From staff reports
05/07/2004

The Wilmington City Council passed a resolution Thursday asking the Army to treat waste from neutralized VX nerve agent in Indiana, where it is currently stockpiled.

The resolution passed 10-1, with Councilman Paul T. Bartkowski dissenting. Councilman Norman D. Griffiths abstained because he works for DuPont Co.

DuPont has proposed treating the chemical weapons disposal waste at its Chambers Works plant near Delaware Memorial Bridge. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing the company's proposal.

Army officials have said that the discharges into the Delaware River would not hurt the waterway. Environmentalists, however, have opposed the plan.

The council's resolution said that an accidental spill while the waste from one of the Army's most lethal chemical weapons was in transit to the DuPont plant in Deepwater, N.J., would cause a public safety threat to city residents.