PENNSVILLE TWP. -- After months of furor concerning DuPont's proposed treatment of the neutralized byproduct of the deadly VX nerve agent here for the U.S. Army, the public comment period for the plan ends at midnight tomorrow.
Col. Jesse Barber, project manager for U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency's Alternative Technologies and Approaches Project, said the Army will consider every comment and concern that people submit.
Under the proposal unveiled in December 2003, the Army would destroy stockpiles of the chemical nerve agent VX at its Newport Chemical Depot in Newport, Ind., where it is currently stored in steel containers.
The VX would be neutralized in a 195 degree Fahrenheit mixing tank containing hot sodium hydroxide, water and the liquid agent VX. This mixing process would continue for 150 minutes until the caustic byproduct made up of water, sodium hydroxide and organic phosphorous and sulfur containing salts is created, thus forming the caustic wastewater or hydrolysate. At this point, the VX is no longer effective as a chemical weapon.
Next, over a period of time, an estimated 1,269 tons of waste byproduct would then be transported in steel containers by tanker truck to DuPont's Secure Environmental Treatment Unit at the Chambers Works' bio-degredation facility in Deepwater. The neutralized byproduct would be transported from the Indiana base to Deepwater in stages.
At least two 400-gallon tankers loaded with hydrolysate would leave Newport every day for more than a year and travel on a predetermined route.
In effort to assure safe shipment of the hydrolysate, DuPont officials said the company will utilize safety management process, which includes: pre-screening all drivers and conducting background checks, using late-model high-quality equipment built to code standards, Global Positioning Satellite and speed governors in every truck and emergency response capabilities, officials have said.
Once the hydrolysate arrives in Deepwater, the SET facility will pre-treat the wastewater by chemical oxidation to eliminate odors and further neutralize and treat it before it is disposed of in the Delaware River.
The entire process would occur at a slow rate over a period of time, not all at once, DuPont officials said.
The VX nerve agent was originally manufactured by the U.S. for use as a chemical weapon and is considered among the deadliest. After Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America the U.S. government decided to store the chemical weapon in various places. Recently, the U.S. government decided from a security standpoint that it is no longer needed for use, so stockpiles needed to be disposed so they would not become a potential target for terrorists.
"The Army has asked for our help and we believe it is an important national security initiative," DuPont Spokesman Anthony Farina said. "If they need our assistance and we feel we can safely and effectively dispose of it, then we believe we have the opportunity to step up and help."
Studies conducted by DuPont's SET unit were completed in March and confirmed, DuPont says, that the local facility can safely and effectively treat the wastewater generated from the U.S. Army's Newport, Ind., site.
DuPont's technical assessments determined the feasibility and safety of the project after evaluating the transportation safety and risk management, treatability studies, screening level environmental risks and health hazards.
The research study includes independent third-party review of assessments by scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and concluded that the proposed project can be accomplished safely and poses no unique hazards.
The Army completed its own review of the health and environmental issues presented prior to DuPont's assessments and determined that transportation will have no significant impact on human health or the environment including impact on air quality, land use, ecological resources, water quality, water use and socioeconomic, archeological and historic resources.
"DuPont has done the most extensive testing on the hydrolysate than any company I know of," said Barber. "Their studies to me, to the Army, says this commercial industry can safely and effectively do it, and you have found a top notch company that is willing to do it, while at whole time maintaining the safety of the public."
More recently, the Army requested another study be conducted to re-evaluate disputed findings. This information stemmed from a prior study from the Perma-Fix Dayton, Ohio, plant -- the first location the Army approached for disposal and treatment of the wastewater. Studies were completed on behalf of DuPont's SET unit to treat and safely dispose of the caustic wastewater of the nerve agent VX.
After public information meetings and still-prevailing concerns and questions from residents and local and state officials, another study will be conducted by a third party.
DuPont officials recently announced the company will not accept a contract to transport and treat the wastewater generated from the Indiana base until the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention completes a formal review of the Army's proposal.
Barber said the concluding results on behalf of the CDC will be factored in, along with public comments, for the Army's final decision.
"There becomes a point when we ask whether we continue down the pathway," he said "We still have ample time and will continue to process information."
The Army had hoped to proceed with starting operations of the facility this summer, but now officials are hoping that concerns will be resolved in that time frame. The target date for completion of the Army's chemical weapons destruction projects was slated for 2007.
If the proposal with DuPont fails, Barber said the Army will investigate a possible long term safe storage facility for the nerve agent until a new solution is devised.
If the proposal moves forward as the Army and DuPont hope, the VX nerve agent byproduct would be the second chemical weapon byproduct to be treated at the Chambers Works. The company signed a contract in 2002 with the Army and is treating mustard gas which had been stored at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md.
No contracts have been signed yet. DuPont is bidding for the contract and it must be awarded to the company by the Army. DuPont officials have declined to say how much securing the contract would be worth, but it is believed to be in the millions of dollars.