Nerve agent destruction postponed

Army indefinitely delays neutralization of VX

By Patricia L. Pastore/Tribune-Star

November 14, 2003

Destruction of the deadly nerve agent VX won't begin in January, the Army announced Thursday, indefinitely postponing neutralization of the chemical agent stored at Newport Chemical Depot.

This is the second delay announced this year.

In August, the Army said Operation Speedy Neut -- a project planned to speed up destruction of VX to October -- was on hold because of safety and environmental issues. A new date of January was then set for the startup of the neutralization.

Last month, the Army and its contractor Parsons Technology, Inc. severed ties with an Ohio company picked to treat and dispose of VX hydrolysate, a caustic byproduct of the neutralization.

The VX neutralization process is expected to create more than 900,000 gallons of caustic waste. Currently, the Army doesn't know how it will dispose of the hazardous chemical material, similar to household drain cleaner.

Col. Jesse L. Barber, project manager for Alternative Technologies and Approaches for the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, doesn't have a clear cut plan in place at this time, Terry Arthur, Army spokeswoman, said Thursday.

Last month, Barber said more details soon should be available on determining what will happen with the VX byproduct. "I am going to lay out how I get from point A to point B in November," Barber said Oct. 24.

But so far, Army and Parsons official have yet to announce when VX neutralization will begin or how they will dispose of the hydrolysate.

In making Thursday's announcement, the Army suggested in a news release that the January startup date "was dependent on a plan to transport hydrolysate, the neutralized byproduct, to Perma-Fix of Dayton, Ohio for treatment and final disposal."

Parsons, the prime contractor at the Newport Chemical Destruction Facility project, terminated its subcontract with Perma-Fix last month.

This action followed the Montgomery County, Ohio, commissioners' Oct. 8 announcement that they refused to support hydrolysate treatment at the Perma-Fix plant. The county commissioners control the Perma-Fix operating permit.

Months prior to the Ohio commissioners' decision, Dayton citizens organized and mounted opposition against accepting VX hydrolysate into their community from the Newport site 135 miles away. They filed a law lawsuit to prevent VX waste from entering their county.

Operation Speedy Neut -- the plan to speed up VX destruction -- occurred after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Previously, VX was scheduled to be destroyed by April 2007 under the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty.

After the attacks, the Army offered a plan to accelerate by three years, at the urging of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, the Army's planned VX destruction.

The Army evaluated super critical oxidation as one method of destroying VX hydrolysate and had began constructing a facility for this type treatment and then abandoned it when Speedy Neut was accepted.

Now, the Army is looking into the possibility of constructing a tank farm at the Newport Chemical Depot where more than 1,200 tons of VX is stored. This chemical weapon is so deadly that an amount the size of a BB can kill within minutes, Army officials have said.

The tank farm could hold and store the hydrolysate until a decision is made concerning how and where it will be treated.

Meanwhile the Army is spending $250,000 a day at the Newport facility while VX destruction is delayed.

"While the Army reevaluates options for hydrolysate disposal, operations at the Newport Chemical Destruction Facility continue with systemization activities, testing each of the facility's systems and functions to ensure proper performance," Jeff Brubaker, the government plant site manager, said in a news release.

"With the exception of a few details, construction is finished," Brubaker said. "We are about 50 percent complete with systemization tests, and will continue with those activities while we work the hydrolysate disposal issue."

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