Anniston Star

The Pueblo Chieftain Online
Publish Date Thursday July 10th, 2003

Panel urges all demil work be done in Pueblo

By GAIL PITTS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

The Citizens' Advisory Commission for the Pueblo Chemical Depot's munitions destruction program tonight will hear a mixed report from a subcommittee trying to decide how to dispose of the decontaminated residue of neutralization.

In a morning session Wednesday, the acceleration committee voted to reject an option that would ship the residual salt solutions from mustard agent neutralization to New Jersey.

But the decision wasn't unanimous by a long shot.

The Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative (ACWA) thought the option - the last of six studied for alternatives to conducting all activities at the depot - deserved further consideration since the consultants who conducted the study estimated it would save $80 million and six months time.

Under the option, the salty water would be shipped to a DuPont plant in New Jersey in tankers that would return loaded with "tap water" to be used in the demil program.

The shipments were offered as an alternative to reducing the salty waters to sludge or salt/cake that then would be shipped off site.

Two other options the committee approved Tuesday - with reservations - also will be discussed at tonight's CAC meeting at McHarg Community Center, 409 Second Lane in Avondale.

The committee agreed wooden pallets and boxes that aren't contaminated could be shipped elsewhere for recycling or reuse but not for any reconstruction or incineration.

And they urged ACWA and the systems manager, Bechtel Pueblo Team, to explore methodology to determine which items are contaminated.

The committee also agreed that propellant - packaged in cotton bags - could be shipped off site after some methodology is developed to determine whether it is contaminated and how stable it is. ACWA, supported by Bechtel, expressed concern that trying to neutralize the propellant at the depot plant could literally gum up the works.

In both cases, the committee conditioned its approval on a review by the commission.