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Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 12:35 PM CST

Southwest Research Institute lands $15.6M contract

San Antonio Business Journal - by W. Scott Bailey

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been awarded a one-year contract by Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Inc. to perform laboratory operations for the destruction of the U.S. Army chemical stockpile stored at the Newport Chemical Depot in Newport, Ind.

The contract is valued at approximately $15.6 million.

In the 1960s, the Newport depot produced a lethal nerve agent called VX. In 2005, the Newport Chemical Disposal Facility was created and has, according to SwRI officials, safely destroyed approximately 4 percent of the nation's stockpile of the chemical agent.

The institute will provide 100 full-time staff members to analyze the byproducts resulting from the agent destruction process. They will continuously monitor the air inside the plant and around its perimeter, as well as the plant's effluent, for the presence of VX.

Darrel Johnston, manager of the Environmental and Demilitarization Technology Department at SwRI, says the institute's main role will be to protect the health and safety of those working at the plant and those who live in surrounding communities.

"This project fits well with the support we are providing at two other demilitarization sites," Johnston explains, adding, "The Newport Chemical Disposal Facility has successfully destroyed 75 percent of the stockpile stored at the Newport Chemical Depot, and we are proud to provide the laboratory services necessary for them to complete the job this year."

The institute has more than 25 years experience in supporting demilitarization programs. SwRI has programs at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Hermiston, Ore., and the Pine Bluff Chemical Demilitarization Facility in Pine Bluff, Ark.

SwRI has also completed a demilitarization program on Johnston Island in the Pacific with the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System.

SwRI is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organization based in San Antonio. It employs more than 3,100 people and has an annual research volume of more than $490 million.