Local group skeptical small demil operation will really save money

Group skeptical demil plan will save money

By JOHN NORTON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

A local citizens group working with Bechtel on the redesign of a weapons destruction plant here remains skeptical that the smaller operation now being planned will really save money.

Still called the accelerated options working group, a name held over from the Pentagon's now abandoned plans to speed up the project, the committee met again Monday to go over aspects of the destruction process. It will present a proposal to the full Colorado Citizens Advisory Committee in June that will be passed on to the Army for approval over the summer.

Under terms of an international treaty, 2,600 tons of artillery shells and mortar rounds containing mustard agent stored at the Pueblo base has to be destroyed.

Bechtel, the prime contractor on the project, has been told to develop a plan that will come in at, or less than, $1.7 billion over its lifetime. To do that, the company is suggesting doing just the mustard agent neutralization here and shipping out the resulting liquid waste along with explosives and packing material.

On Monday, the project's chief scientist, Craig Myler, discussed how the explosives and packing material would be removed and tested for contamination.

The plan is to remove the shells and place them in sealed containers where they will be monitored for leaks. Any leakers would be disposed of just as they are now. The rest will be disassembled with the uncontaminated explosives and materials shipped to other sites and the mustard agent neutralized here.

Scientists have already tested that inspection process, Myler said, and are satisfied they can spot any contaminated material.

Once the mustard agent is neutralized, the resulting liquid, called hydrolysate, is a toxic chemical that can be broken down by bacteria. The original plan was to do that at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, but Bechtel is now planning to ship the hydrolysate to another plant for further treatment.

Paul Henry of Bechtel said that there are six possible plants to which the hydrolysate can be shipped.

Committee members questioned how easy that is going to be since each state has its own rules on transporting such materials. They have continued to question whether the cost savings in the design of the Pueblo plant will match the extra costs and possible delays caused if the hydrolysate is shipped out.

Rancher John Thatcher also questioned the cost savings in shipping the explosives off site, saying that three years ago the prices quoted by the Army were half of what it costs him to ship livestock. "I know what shipping costs are and if you can ship hazardous wastes cheaper than cattle, you're pretty smart," he said.

Limiting the amount of work on site in Pueblo also will mean more than 200 fewer jobs at the peak of employment, Henry said.