Activists,
residents worry over disposal plans
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
By ANDREW FRANKUM
Staff Writer
PENNSVILLE TWP. -- Although many environmental activists and residents have become increasingly concerned over the possibility of DuPont Chambers Works accepting more chemical weapon disposal projects from the U.S. Army, many officials say it too early to tell whether DuPont will accept any waste removal projects.
Kathy DeWeese, the public affairs officer for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA), which is responsible for the destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado said any plans of disposing chemical weapons off site is premature.
DeWeese said much of the recent media attention involving the issues came because the Program Manager of Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, Michael A. Parker, wanted to look into the cost of shipping hydrolysate off site as opposed to building an on-site facility.
The ACWA has been looking into building its own waste treatment facility to treat the chemical byproducts on site, however they could save hundreds of thousands of dollars if they send the hydrolysate to commercial facilities such as DuPont.
DeWeese said the ACWA has not made any decision on sending the estimated 8,600,000 gallons of hydrolysate off site.
DuPont Chambers Works has the technology, the capability and expertise to take on such a project, DeWeese said.
DuPont Chambers Works safely disposed of 7 million gallons of wastewater from Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md. in 2002 and is looking to pursue the Newport Project, which recently received the OK from the Center for Disease Control.
"What we might be sending would be a drop in the bucket for what they are capable of," DeWeese said.
Despite DuPont Chambers Work's history and capability for such a project, DeWeese said there is no plan for off-site disposal and the ACWA has not contacted potential commercial facilities about future projects.
The ACWA is continuing to design an on-site facility at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot, DeWeese said.
Anthony Farina, spokesman for DuPont, maintains that the company is only under consideration for the Newport project and has not been approached by the Army for any other waste removal projects.