Army contractor resumes neutralization of nerve agent
A U.S. Army contractor resumed neutralization
of the deadly nerve agent VX on Friday, completing the process on a single
180-gallon container at 12:51 p.m., said spokeswoman Terry Arthur.
Workers at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility restarted the VX
neutralization process before noon, which including mixing the agent with
800 gallons of water and hot sodium hydroxide, Arthur said. Now the VX will
be mixed and sampled several times to test for VX destruction and flammability.
"We will not get test results back until early next week," Arthur said. "Everything
did go smoothly on restart."
VX is so deadly that one droplet can kill a person. More than 250,000 gallons
of the Cold War-era chemical weapon are stored at the Newport Chemical Depot,
which is 25 miles north of Maple Avenue. The depot has 1,269 180-gallon containers
of VX.
Contractor Parsons Technology Inc. began the neutralization process May 5.
It stopped June 10 when 30 gallons of hydrolysate leaked into a sealed, contained
area at the site.
Engineers have determined deteriorated diaphragm material in valves
on the reactors caused the spill, said Jeff Brubaker, the Army's site project
manager. They have been replaced with new diaphragms made of tougher material.
The federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission on Wednesday approved
the long-anticipated closing of the depot, but it cannot shut its doors until
the stockpile of VX is destroyed.
Tribune-Star staff report
Story created Aug 30, 2005 09:32:45 CDT.
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