Embargoed until 2 PM, September
1, 2005
CITIZEN GROUPS ADVOCATE TRANSPORTING
TECHNOLOGY,
NOT WASTE, TO TREAT CHEMICAL WEAPONS DISPOSAL BYPRODUCTS
The Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG) today sent a letter to Assistant
Secretary of the Army Claude Bolton, proposing a two-part solution to the
Army’s problem regarding disposal of Indiana’s VX hydrolysate:
- treat VX hydrolysate with supercritical water
oxidation (SCWO) in Indiana as originally planned; then
- transport the SCWO units to Kentucky in order
to destroy chemical agent hydrolysates in Kentucky.
Hydrolysate is the liquid byproduct of chemical agent
neutralization. It is a hazardous waste that may contain small amounts
of chemical agent residue along with other hazardous constituents.
Sara Morgan, a retired teacher from Montezuma, Indiana and citizen watchdog
of the Indiana chemical weapons program, said, “For years the Army has been
spinning its wheels on the wrong path toward disposal of the hydrolysate.
This proposal ensures safe disposal of the waste here in Indiana, justice
for communities who don’t want the waste, and chemical security for everyone
in between.”
For more than two years, the US Army Office of Elimination of Chemical Weapons
(ECW) has attempted to ship VX hydrolysate from Newport, Indiana for final
treatment at an off-site commercial biological treatment facility.
ECW’s decision, originally designed to speed up nerve agent destruction post
9/11, has been opposed at every turn by citizens in Indiana as well as by
citizens and elected officials at the potential recipient sites, first in
Ohio and now in New Jersey. Additionally, groups in states like Ohio
and Pennsylvania are concerned with transportation risks associated with
a hydrolysate spill on the roadways or railways.
Indiana is not the only chemical weapons site opposed to off-site shipment
of chemical agent hydrolysate. In Kentucky, residents living near the
chemical weapons stockpile site in Richmond have opposed shipment of hydrolysate.
In July 2005, the Chemical Disposal Community Advisory Board, which oversees
activities associated with disposal of Kentucky’s chemical weapons, stated
it’s strong preference that chemical agent hydrolysates be treated on-site.
CWWG Director Craig Williams, who is also a member of the local advisory
board, said, “People here in Kentucky want to avoid the kinds of problems
that Indiana is dealing with, and do not see the point in dumping this waste
on another community when it can be treated safely right here. It makes
much more sense to transport the technology, not the waste.”
Sharon Finlayson, Chair of the New Jersey Environmental Federation,
agrees. The Federation said, “We feel that there is too much
uncertainty about the toxicity of hydrolysate, the effects of this waste
on DuPont workers, its impact on the Delaware River. In addition this
could open the door for continued shipments of chemical weapons waste to
New Jersey. That is completely unacceptable.”
Across the river from the DuPont facility, Alan Muller, Director of Green
Delaware is among the citizens concerned with existing levels of pollution
in the Delaware River and wants to prevent additional toxic releases.
He said, "The people and state governments of Delaware and New Jersey are
united on this: We will NOT accept the shipment of VX hydrolysate or
other chemical weapons wastes to DuPont Chambers Works or other facilities
in our region. The Army must come to its senses and plan for the on-site
treatment of these wastes as originally agreed upon."
Tracy Carluccio, Director of Special Projects with the Delaware Riverkeeper
Network (DRN): "There is no reason to risk the transport of VX hydrolysate
to New Jersey nor to consider the dumping of the waste into the Delaware
River. DRN will continue to work with the watershed community to fight the
VX shipment to DuPont through every means possible."
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