Just say no to VX
plan
If the Army and DuPont asked for your permission to dispose of hydrolysate, a byproduct of VX nerve agent, in the Delaware River, what would you say?
"No, thank you. Toxic waste is bad"?
"Well, it might be OK. Let's think about it"?
Or, "Sure! Can we have a boardwalk, too?"
According to The Press, Maurice River Township officials chose the last answer. Worse still, Mayor Ron Riggins defended the proposed disposal plan by claiming that "this VX project . . . is the best way to rid our nation of a dangerous terrorist target."
Frankly, the fact that Riggins or anyone else would even consider accepting the VX disposal offer is nothing short of alarming. VX was designed to kill. No matter what the Army, DuPont, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Environmental Protection Agency may claim, they cannot guarantee that hydrolysate poses no threat to animal or human life.
Cooperation is laudable, but not when it takes the place of common sense. The VX treatment plan is an unnecessary risk that can be avoided with one simple word: No.
JAIMIE VIGUE
Egg Harbor Township