Critics unmoved by development By JEFF MONTGOMERY The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave a
green light Thursday to a revised plan to truck wastes from a government nerve
agent disposal plant in Indiana to DuPont's treatment plant in Deepwater, N.J.,
near the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The agency concluded that the revised Army and DuPont
Co. proposal "sufficiently addresses critical issues related to the
environmental impact of the treatment, as well as those related to potential
toxicity to humans and concerns about transportation safety." Opponents quickly rejected the conclusions as overly
optimistic, and pointed out that New Jersey and Delaware still must review the
findings and rule on permits for the project. "We won't be rushing to judgment,"
Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said in a
statement. VX is one of the nation's deadliest chemical weapons,
with as little as a pinhead-size droplet capable of causing death on contact
with human skin. Army contractors already have neutralized about 20 percent of
a 1,269-ton stockpile of VX in Newport, Ind., with wastes kept in storage
pending final approval for transfer to DuPont's commercial wastewater plant. DuPont said in a statement that the company was
pleased by the CDC's conclusion that the treatment plan -- significantly
revised after comments from regulators and the public -- was deemed safe and
effective. "DuPont will make its decision as to whether to
pursue this project after government officials, regulators, community leaders
and the company have had the opportunity to review and react to the CDC
report," Nick Fanandakis, vice president and general manager of DuPont
Chemical Solutions Enterprise, said in a statement. Lawmakers remain cautious The Environmental Protection Agency also gave its
clearance for the project after DuPont overhauled its plans for overseeing the
shipments and treating the wastes. "The proposal studied in today's CDC
report is significantly different from the one originally planned at the outset
of the project in 2004," the company noted. DuPont's revised treatment plan would capture most
pollutants targeted in objections by Delaware's environmental regulators, with
those wastes sent to a hazardous waste landfill in Deepwater. Company
representatives also would screen shipments prior to departure from Newport to
assure they are safe and free of VX. Members of Delaware and New Jersey congressional
delegations requested the CDC review after critics said the process could
release new pollutants -- and possibly molecules of VX -- into the Delaware
River. "Before proceeding any further, the Army and
DuPont should afford the citizens of Delaware the opportunity to ask questions,
review and comment on this proposal," Republican Rep. Mike Castle, and
Democratic Sens. Joe Biden and Tom Carper, all of Delaware, said in a joint
statement. Opponents of the plan have said they will continue
efforts to block the waste shipments to DuPont's plant. The CDC "endorsement is based on the rosiest
scenarios and the best-case assumptions," said Rep. Rob Andrews, D-N.J. Andrews and other New Jersey lawmakers said the push
is on to require a Government Accountability Office review of the overall plan,
including costs and benefits for alternatives, potentially delaying shipments
for another year. The company wants to treat about 4 million gallons of
caustic liquids, similar in some ways to drain cleaner, shipped from Newport
during a three year period. Deepwater already has safely treated and disposed
of several million gallons of caustic wastewater from a mustard agent stockpile
in Aberdeen, Md., DuPont officials have pointed out. Environmental impacts a concern The Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the
Kentucky-based Chemical Weapons Working Group both called Thursday for a
180-day delay in any action on the project to allow further public review of
the CDC study. "A 180-day review period is wholly
justified," said Maya K. van Rossum, of Delaware Riverkeeper, in a
statement. "This proposal represents an assault on the Delaware River and
the communities that will be subject to the transport, handling, and disposal
effects of VX nerve agent waste. The public deserves adequate time to digest
this report." The Army began a push to use DuPont's wastewater plant
in 2004 after dropping efforts to use a plant closer to Newport, Ind. Military
officials initially planned to destroy the wastewater at the Indiana plant, but
changed course after the jetliner attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Military officials said the country needed to
eliminate chemical weapon stockpiles faster to eliminate the risk of terrorism.
Some groups have claimed the Army and DuPont also want to use the Deepwater
plant for wastes from other chemical weapon stockpiles. DuPont expects to receive about $13.5 million annually
for the two- to three-year project, but Army officials have declined to confirm
or discuss their spending plans. Craig Williams, who directs the Chemical Weapons
Working Group, said the Army should build an already proven treatment system at
Newport for VX wastewater disposal. "I want to know why anybody along the Delaware
River should accept any negative impact from this plan," Williams said.
"There's no benefit to residents. DuPont makes money, the Army gets its
way and the river gets the impact. That makes no sense to me." Contact Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or
jmontgomery@delawareonline.com.
THE NEWS JOURNAL
07/28/2006