GAO Slams Army Cost Analysis on Proposed Nerve Agent By-Product
Shipments From Indiana to New Jersey
CHEMICAL
WEAPONS WORKING GROUP
P.O. Box 467, Berea, KY 40403
Phone: (859) 986-9868
Fax: (859) 986-2695
www.cwwg.org kefcwwg@cwwg.org
for
additional information contact:
Craig Williams - (859) 986-7565
(859) 302-1103
Craig Williams - (859) 986-7565
(859) 302-1103
for
immediate release: Friday, January 26, 2007
GAO SLAMS ARMY COST
ANALYSIS ON PROPOSED NERVE AGENT
BY-PRODUCT SHIPMENTS FROM INDIANA TO NEW JERSEY
DuPont Pulled Out Of The Deal To Treat VX Agent Waste Just Weeks Ago
BY-PRODUCT SHIPMENTS FROM INDIANA TO NEW JERSEY
DuPont Pulled Out Of The Deal To Treat VX Agent Waste Just Weeks Ago
The
Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released its Report
reviewing the Army's cost comparison analysis for treating VX
hydrolysate at Newport, Indiana or shipping it to a DuPont treatment
facility in Salem County, New Jersey.
The Army has long argued that shipping this material for treatment and eventual discharge into the Delaware River would save hundreds of millions of dollars. But citizens groups and elected officials along the transportation routes and especially in N.J. and DE opposed the idea, citing among other things, environmental concerns.
Now, even the cost saving argument has been seriously undermined.
According to the GAO, "we determined that the [Army] estimates were unreliable because of (1) the quantity and magnitude of errors, (2) quality control weaknesses, (3) questionable or inadequate supporting source data and documentation, and (4) the undetermined sensitivity of key assumptions." The Report went on to say, "Neither the Army nor the contractor has a system in place to perform cross-checks of the costs, underlying assumptions, or the technical parameters that went into the estimates."
"Other than that, it appears the Army's analysis was pretty reliable", said Craig Williams, Director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG).
The GAO made a series of recommendations to rectify the shortcomings noted, but, with the DuPont option now off the table it remains to be seen what approach will be used to treat the over 2 million gallons of liquid waste anticipated to be generated from the agent neutralization process at Newport.
According to Army sources, since the DuPont pullout they have begun to review all on-site and off-site options.
Previous attempts to ship the VX hydrolysate to a facility in Dayton, Ohio also failed when citizens rejected the proposal.
"Seems like the Army should have gotten the message that there is little interest in receiving waste from chemical weapons into communities that don't have this stuff to begin with," said Williams. "Indiana folks are advocating on-site treatment, and that is what the military should do."
The Army has long argued that shipping this material for treatment and eventual discharge into the Delaware River would save hundreds of millions of dollars. But citizens groups and elected officials along the transportation routes and especially in N.J. and DE opposed the idea, citing among other things, environmental concerns.
Now, even the cost saving argument has been seriously undermined.
According to the GAO, "we determined that the [Army] estimates were unreliable because of (1) the quantity and magnitude of errors, (2) quality control weaknesses, (3) questionable or inadequate supporting source data and documentation, and (4) the undetermined sensitivity of key assumptions." The Report went on to say, "Neither the Army nor the contractor has a system in place to perform cross-checks of the costs, underlying assumptions, or the technical parameters that went into the estimates."
"Other than that, it appears the Army's analysis was pretty reliable", said Craig Williams, Director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG).
The GAO made a series of recommendations to rectify the shortcomings noted, but, with the DuPont option now off the table it remains to be seen what approach will be used to treat the over 2 million gallons of liquid waste anticipated to be generated from the agent neutralization process at Newport.
According to Army sources, since the DuPont pullout they have begun to review all on-site and off-site options.
Previous attempts to ship the VX hydrolysate to a facility in Dayton, Ohio also failed when citizens rejected the proposal.
"Seems like the Army should have gotten the message that there is little interest in receiving waste from chemical weapons into communities that don't have this stuff to begin with," said Williams. "Indiana folks are advocating on-site treatment, and that is what the military should do."
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copies of the GAO report are available upon request
copies of the GAO report are available upon request
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