New Jersey gets more time to mull VX proposal

Army reports: Hydrolysate contains trace amounts of toxic substances

By Patricia L. Pastore/Tribune-Star

January 17, 2004

The Army agreed Friday to extend the comment period on the proposed treatment of VX neutralization byproduct at the DuPont waste facility in New Jersey.

The comment period officially was supposed to end Monday but will extend 60 days.

"This week we have received considerable requests for extending the public comment period," said Jeff Brubaker, Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility site project manager.

The extension comes after four New Jersey lawmakers and its governor complained the public wasn't given ample opportunity to review the Army's revised environmental impact statement and the transportation analysis.

The transportation analysis maps out two routes for tanker trucks to haul caustic VX hydrolysate, a hazardous waste, from Newport to New Jersey. Both indicate using Indiana 465 to skirt Indianapolis as the substance heads over the highways through seven states to the DuPont Chamber Works facility in Deepwater, N.J.

The Army also is complying with Gov. James E. McGreevey's request to conduct a public hearing to open dialog with residents.

"In addition, we believe it is important that people have the facts and accurate information," Brubaker said in a news release. "To that point, a public information session will be held. The logistics will need to be worked out, but I can tell you that the public information session will be held within 30 days of the conclusion of the public comment period."

Citizens in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania have said they are opposed to waste from the neutralization of a deadly Cold War chemical munition being dumped in the Delaware River after DuPont performs dual treatments to further neutralize the hazardous waste. VX hydrolysate contains trace amounts of toxic substances, according to Army reports.

Last year, citizens in Dayton, Ohio, refused to allow the Army to bring millions of gallons of the same byproduct of nerve agent VX neutralization to Perma-Fix, also a commercial waste treatment facility. After learning the hazardous nature of this waste, Ohio officials failed to approve a permit Perma-Fix needed to treat it.

Army contractor Parsons Technologies canceled its contract with Perma-Fix and immediately looked toward New Jersey at DuPont, the largest waste treatment facility in the United States.

DuPont has the capability of dumping up to 40 million gallons of treated waste streams into the Delaware River daily.

Environmental groups in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania are against additional wastes, especially those with possible trace amounts of toxic substances that might foul this waterway that empties into Delaware Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean.

The Delaware Riverkeeper and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network want proof that treated VX hydrolysate discharged into the river is safe and nontoxic.

Maya K. van Rossum, a spokesman for this group, has said, "We stand as vigilant protectors and defenders of the river, its tributaries and its watershed committed to restoring the natural balance where it has been lost and ensuring its preservation where it still exists."

The Army's response after failing to give notification to the citizens of communities surrounding the DuPont facility may be "too little too late," said Alan Muller, spokesman for the Green Delaware organization. The Army only "ran a small public notice in one New Jersey newspaper rather than being upfront" with the area residents, he said. He feels most people will doubt what the Army has to say.

"I think people around here will harden and probably take a stronger stance against it being treated here at DuPont," Muller said.

McGreevey has taken a firm stand on water protection.

In his Jan. 14 letter to Les Brownlee, acting secretary of the Army, he wrote, "Over the course of the past two years, New Jersey has initiated several of the most comprehensive water protection measures to ensure that our resources are protected from pollution and overdevelopment."

"The protection of New Jersey's waterways will continue to be one of this administration's highest priorities. In light of our efforts in New Jersey, it is with great concern that I recently learned of plans by the United States Army to dispose of waste materials derived from one of the most lethal chemical warfare agents at a facility that discharges into the Delaware River."

Some people believe the Army should neutralize the lethal nerve agent on the Newport site and then store it in containers until Army chemists can prove to independent consultants the byproduct of VX destruction can be safely treated to protect the public and the environment.

"The Chemical Weapons Working Group believes that the basic ingredients necessary for safe treatment of secondary wastes are a public that is fully informed and involved before decisions are made, and proof that the treatment technology performs to the highest standards of protection of our health and the environment," said Elizabeth Crowe, a spokeswoman for the Weapons Working Group. "Without those ingredients, it looks like the Army's proposed shipment to New Jersey is a recipe for disaster."

The Weapons Working Group is a citizens' coalition concerned with the safe destruction of chemical weapons, especially the Lexington/Bluegrass Depot stockpile, where the Army stores munitions such as projectiles, mines and other Cold War explosive weapons filled with VX, GB and mustard chemical agents.

The Army agreed to destroy that stockpile and deal with the hydrolysate created by neutralization and destruction on-site.

The Newport Citizens against Incineration also has concerns about the safe destruction of VX hydrolysate.

"In order for us to have confidence in the process and with shipping we want an independent person in the laboratory at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility all the time 24/7," said Sara Newport, spokesperson for that group. "Ideally, someone from Indiana Department of Environmental Management would be fine."

Other people want to know what alternative plans the Army has in place for VX hydrolysate disposal should New Jersey prohibit VX hydrolysate from coming to DuPont.

"We have examined a number of options in recent weeks, including on-site and off-site treatment and disposal methods," said Terry Arthur, Army spokeswoman. "None of those options has been discarded."

The Army did not immediately respond to requests for more specific information.

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