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Army temporarily suspends VX process
Move to review data of first five weeks
of neutralization operation
By Patricia L. Pastore/Tribune-Star
The Army announced Friday that it will temporarily suspend VX neutralization
next week, allowing workers to compare notes and process data from the first
five weeks of continuous operation at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal
Facility.
"We plan to share and solicit input from the plant workers," said Jeff Brubaker,
government site project manager.
Four shifts of employees work in the neutralization facility.
"We want to capture the lessons learned by one
shift and share the information with all the plant workers," Brubaker said.
The purpose of doing this is to "improve our operations, thereby ensuring
the safety of the plant work force, the public and the environment."
As of Thursday, 2,894 gallons of VX had been neutralized. The one-ton containers
that once held that VX are being decontaminated so they can be disposed of.
A special decontamination line was opened this week and processed seven of
the 22 empty containers, Brubaker said.
Employees working in the neutralization facility will have the opportunity
to compare the lessons each shift has learned so plant operations can be
optimized, said Col. Jesse Barber, project manager for Alternative Technologies
and Approaches.
"I'm coming to the plant Monday to review the success of this operation.
We have processed 22 batches of VX successfully without incident," he said.
This temporary break in operations isn't the planned maintenance shutdown
scheduled for August, Brubaker said.
Four months ago, periodic temporary breaks in processing were built
into the operating schedule, Barber said. He said the 1,269 tons of VX stored
at Newport is expected to be destroyed in 30 months.
VX is a deadly nerve agent manufactured at Newport in the 1960s. A drop the
size of a BB can kill an adult in minutes, the Army has said.
Patricia Pastore an be reached at (812)231-4271
or pat.pastore@tribstar.com.
Story created Jun 13, 2005 - 11:06:36
CDT
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