New Jersey legislators urge prohibition of VX discharge

Bayh calls for "second option" to keep process moving

By Patricia L. Pastore/Tribune-Star
March 16, 2004

Two New Jersey legislators introduced a resolution Thursday urging their state's congressional delegation to prohibit the discharge of treated nerve agent VX into the Delaware River.

South Jersey legislators Jack Conners and Herbert Conaway Jr. introduced the resolution in opposition to a VX treatment proposal the Army is considering with the DuPont Chamber Works plant in Deepwater, N.J.

DuPont has told the Army its studies show it can safely treat VX hydrolysate before discharging it into the river.

Stopping this discharge into the river is necessary in order to "preserve our resources and environment from pollution and contamination ... " the resolution states.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Army developed Operation Speedy Neut, a program to destroy VX, the Cold War's deadliest nerve agent, ahead of the 2007 Multinational Treaty agreement.

U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh was instrumental in getting the Army to put an accelerated program in place. He hoped to remove any threat, however slight, of a terrorist attack on the Newport Chemical Depot and to take away any risk it might pose to Indiana residents, he has said repeatedly.

"If the Army is unable to ship the hydrolysate, it should have a second option in place to keep the neutralization process moving forward," Bayh said Monday. "The most important step is to remove the threat posed by the VX. The Army should investigate all options simultaneously to ensure that the neutralization takes place as swiftly and safely as possible."

Deadlines for the VX Speedy Neutralization Program at the Newport Chemical Depot have been extended twice.

The Army's current plans are to destroy the nerve agent beginning in June by neutralizing it with sodium hydroxide and water then further treating the byproduct, hydrolysate, at an off-site hazardous waste treatment facility.

Todd Owens, a chemical engineer for DuPont, said the secure environmental facility at DuPont can safely treat VX hydrolysate in a two-step operation.

He said the treated effluent meets the standards for its disposal into the Delaware River.

DuPont, if awarded the contract to treat the VX hydrolysate, also will transport the caustic waste from the Chemical Depot in Newport to the New Jersey treatment facility.

DuPont's technical assessment of the U.S. Army Newport Project hasn't convinced the New Jersey Environmental Federation its planned treatment for VX hydrolysate will render the effluent safe for people and aquatic life.

"The legislators' resolution signifies the level of concern for New Jersey residents, workers and environmental groups they have about the proposed VX nerve agent byproduct being processed in New Jersey," said Jane Nogaki, spokeswoman for the Environmental Federation.

The federation is the state's largest not-for-profit, citizen-based environmental group. It numbers 100,000 members and is affiliated with 100 member groups.

"There are unanswered questions about worker exposure and toxicity to the Delaware river, which is already impaired and shouldn't bear the burden of more pollution," she said.

Hauling the VX hydrolysate poses additional risks, Nogaki said.

"Any time you transport contaminant, you increase the risk of exposure," she said. "We believe the Army should go back to its original plan to neutralize the VX at the Newport site and to treat the VX hydrolysate on-site, too."

The Army's budget won't allow it to issue a contract to a commercial hazardous waste treatment facility to treat the VX hydrolysate and fund sufficient tanks to hold and store the hydrolysate.

Col. Jesse L. Barber, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency alternative technologies and approaches project manager, said budget constraints prevent him from building a tank farm to store VX hydrolysate because if he put money in a tank farm, it would take it away from another project. He plans to buy sufficient tanks to hold about 200,000 gallons of the VX waste as a buffer in the event a problem should occur during neutralization.

These tanks will hold only three months worth of neutralized VX, he said.

Barber has said treating VX hydrolysate off-site is more cost- effective.

DuPont is the second commercial hazardous waste treatment facility the Army and its contractor Parsons Technologies Inc. have hired to conduct studies and propose treatment for the VX neutralization waste. Parsons initially signed a contract with Perma-Fix of Ohio. Ohio citizens opposed hauling VX hydrolysate into their state from Newport. County authorities refused to sign the necessary paper work to allow Perma-Fix to treat the VX waste.

DuPont, known for treating hazardous waste from throughout the nation, claims its tests prove conclusively that it can treat the VX hydrolysate and do no harm to man or the environment.

Barber said he is eager to meet with the citizens and environmentalists in New Jersey and Delaware later this week at public-information meetings in both states.

He has information from independent sources who have scrutinized the DuPont report, he said.

"These are highly regarded, respected people who understand the process DuPont plans to use," Barber said. "It's safe or we would not do it."

Barber also affirmed DuPont has not yet been offered a contract from Parsons or the Army.

Patricia Pastore can be reached at (812)231-4271 or pat.pastore@tribstar.com.