PENNS GROVE -- Borough council members this week discussed their concerns over the DuPont Co.'s proposal to treat the neutralized byproduct of the deadly VX nerve gas at its nearby Chambers Works plant.
Councilman Anthony Crescenzi said the council is opposed to the plan and assured Penns Grove residents that the plan is far from a done deal.
I want the people of Penns Grove to know that their are still steps to be taken before this can occur, Crescenzi said. We as a council in Penns Grove are going to join with Governor (Jon) Corzine in opposition to this proposal.
Crescenzi also said the proposal could affect the Riverwalk project now under construction along the Delaware River in the borough.
"From a marketing standpoint, it could affect what we do down at the river," Crescenzi said of the shopping, dining and recreation center. "The river project and nerve gas don't mix."
The U.S. Army wants DuPont to treat and dispose of up to four million gallons of wastewater derived from VX, a chemical warfare agent. The Army is currently storing the VX at a facility in Indiana where the process to neutralize the chemical is already under way.
The neutralized VX byproduct would be shipped to DuPont, just south of the borough, where it would be treated and released into the river.
The EPA has said that their are no environmental threats with the process. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention will be releasing their own report on the proposal in the upcoming months.
DuPont must also secure an amendment from the state Department of Environmental Protection on its wastewater discharge permit before it could move ahead with treatment of the VX byproduct.