The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency's (CMA's) plan to treat hydrolysate is safe. Hydrolysate is the caustic wastewater that remains after destroying the nerve agent VX.

VX is a liquid; similar in thickness to 30-weight motor oil. It does not disperse or evaporate easily and is a contact hazard rather than a vapor hazard. The neutralization process at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana destroys the VX on site, as proven by laboratory analysis. The resulting hydrolysate does not contain VX and has none of its characteristics.

The NECDF will ship only hydrolysate that has been laboratory-certified as containing no detectable levels of VX. An April 2005 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report states that the Army's transportation plan for the caustic hydrolysate meets Department of Transportation regulations, and precautions are adequate to protect the public, workers and the environment.

The proposal is to treat the caustic hydrolysate at DuPont's Secure Environmental Treatment facility in New Jersey. DuPont would first eliminate the wastewater's caustic characteristics and remove the small amount of phosphonates that are in the wastewater (these were the concern for the treatment stream's effects on aquatic life) prior to further treatment using a biotreatment process that ends with a discharge released into the Delaware River. The discharge would meet or better the strict requirements of state and federal regulatory agencies.

The CDC is currently studying the efficiency of DuPont's patented treatment process. And we will not proceed with contract award until the CDC agrees that the process is safe for the workforce, the community and the environment - including the Delaware River.

The successful off-site treatment and disposal of more than 4 million gallons of wastewater from CMA's Aberdeen, Md., project without incident at a properly permitted commercial treatment, storage and disposal facility clearly demonstrates that off-site treatment is safe for the public and the environment. This is the same safe and cost-effective approach the Army is proposing for the caustic wastewater from the depot.

Shipment of hydrolysate or wastewater is safe, and complies with existing treaty requirements, as well as federal and state laws and regulations. It makes sense to use an existing treatment, storage and disposal facility, with a proven process and safety record rather than reproducing or creating a new facility and process on site.

Safety of site personnel, the surrounding communities and the environment is top priority and our legacy from nerve agent production and storage days at the Newport Chemical Depot. The depot is committed to continue that legacy of safety throughout destruction of the stockpile and closure of the facility.

As shown by events at the depot since start of operations, we are slowly and methodically working our way through start up to full destruction capabilities; ensuring that each step and component of the destruction process is safe for the workforce, the community and the environment before moving ahead. During a planned pause in operations, an analysis of the wastewater showed that it had a flashpoint that would have classified it as flammable. A committed team of engineers conducted a thorough analysis of possible causes and put into place a course of action that eliminated the cause of the flammability. This was the prudent course of action and we will maintain that same methodology and attention to detail throughout the destruction of the Newport stockpile.

In summary, numerous National Research Council studies of disposal processes and follow-on treatment, CDC reviews and their recent evaluation of the proposal for off-site treatment, as well as evaluations by state and federal regulators agree that public safety and transportation are not issues.

CMA is working with the CDC to ensure that, should a contract be awarded to treat the hydrolysate off site, transportation and treatment will be safe for the workforce, the community and environment. Reducing the risk to our nation from the continued storage of the stockpile is the right and rational thing to do as we continue to serve the community by disposing of the chemical weapons stockpile.

- LTC Scott D. Kimmell
Commander
Newport Chemical Depot

- Jeffrey Brubaker
Site Project Manager
Newport Chemical Agent
Disposal Facility

Story created Oct 04, 2005 - 09:42:57 CDT