U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews wants to find out why DuPont did
not notify the public when the company did a test run of its plan to treat
the waste byproduct of the nerve agent VX.
DuPont released about 3.6 gallons of treated waste into the
Delaware River over four months, according to the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection.
The Army is trying to get rid of about 1,200 tons of the toxic
nerve agent - stored in Newport, Ind. - after breaking it down by mixing
it with a corrosive material. The plan, stalled by political and environmental
opposition, is to send the mixture to a DuPont plant in Deepwater, N.J.,
which would treat the byproduct and dispose of it in the Delaware.
In a letter sent yesterday to Army Inspector General Paul
T. Mikolashek, Andrews (D., N.J.) asked why the company had been allowed
to dispose of the treated wastewater in the river before studies had determined
it was safe.
"I think it's highly irregular and very disturbing that there
was any discharge into the river... without proper public disclosure and
without consultation with regulatory agencies," Andrews wrote.
DuPont spokesman Anthony Farina said in a statement that the
company had disposed of the mixture under permits from the DEP. He did not
say when the discharge took place.
The goal of DuPont's test was to evaluate whether its Chambers
Works Secure Environmental Treatment Unit would be able to treat the wastewater.
"The environmental and safety studies concluded the Newport
wastewater could be treated safely and effectively, poses no unique hazards,
and the resulting effluent will have no adverse impact on the environment,"
the statement said.
In a letter dated yesterday, DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell
wrote that DuPont had not told his department about the disposal, but that
the waste fell under notification limits and did not pose any threat.
Campbell added that DuPont would need a major modification
of its disposal permit to fulfill the Army contract, "but I could not commit
to approving such a modification when it appears that the facility would
do little to treat" the VX byproducts.
Maj. Desiree Wineland, a spokeswoman for the Army Inspector
General's Office, said that Andrew's request would be honored like any from
a member of Congress, but that it could be referred to the Department of
Defense's inspector general.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
the Environmental Protection Agency are reviewing the health and environmental
effects of DuPont's treatment plan.
Neither the Army nor DuPont has disclosed the plan's cost.
Maya van Rossum of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a watershed-advocacy
group, said a nonmilitary, nongovernmental agency should investigate the disposal
method independently.
"The problem here is that all the players are suspect," she
said. "The Army is suspect because they want to get rid of it. The EPA is
suspect under this administration and can't be trusted to do this kind of
investigation honestly. And DuPont can't be trusted because they want the
contract."
