Army changes formula for neutralizing VX nerve agent

"Recipe" reduces amount of weapon treated in reactors, more than doubles time to destroy it

By Patricia L. Pastore/Tribune-Star

The U.S. Army's new "recipe" for neutralizing VX, a deadly nerve agent stockpiled at the Newport Chemical Depot, reduces the amount of the chemical weapon treated in reactors and more than doubles the time necessary to destroy it.

If the Army started operations to neutralize the agent today, it would use a formula of 8 percent VX, by weight, to 92 percent, by weight, sodium hydroxide and water solution, said Jeff Brubaker, Army site project manager of the Newport Chemical Agent Destruction Facility.

"We are confident it will clear," he said. "By the time we start operations, sometime between April and June, we may be able to use 12 percent or 16 percent [VX]."

He said at 8 percent, the neutralization process will take about four years to complete, and two years at 16 percent.

Work done at the laboratory on the plant site shows 16 percent has cleared the 20 parts per billion VX in hydrolysate the Army requires, but not consistently. VX hydrolysate is a caustic hazardous waste and the byproduct of VX neutralization. Brubaker believes with continued effort, 16 percent VX may be possible by start-up time.

Brubaker confirmed problems with the old formula of 33 percent, by weight, VX, to a 67 percent sodium hydroxide and water solution prompted a change in formula the Army calls "reduced loading."

The Army promised VX hydrolysate, a byproduct of neutralization, will contain not more than 20 parts per billion VX, which is considered to be a low level or non-detectable amount of nerve agent.

The state requires VX to be destroyed to 99.9999 percent, Brubaker said in August, a point at which the level in the hydrolysate is 230 parts per billion or lower. He said the Army's chemical neutralization process exceeds state requirements.

The Army has not tested neutralization with the full scale reactors like those at the Newport depot. Testing is done on a smaller scale model using "mostly VX from the Edgewood , Maryland, facility," Brubaker said. "That VX was manufactured here.

"We will start up very deliberately and very slowly," he said. "We'll maintain the baseline recipe; the only changes are the amount of agent. We might do only one or two ton containers a month."

The delay in VX neutralization has a high price tag. It costs about $250,000 a day or $7 million a month, the Army has said.

The Army also is considering the addition at Newport of hydrolysate storage tanks, since there is only 40,000 gallons of hydrolysate tank storage currently available.

If the VX destruction process is shut down for any reason, the Army wants a 200,000 gallon buffer, Brubaker said. He said four 50,000 gallon storage tanks and some 6,000 gallon temporary storage tanks are presently under consideration.

"The advantage of the 6,000 gallon tanks is they can be loaded onto flatbed trucks or railcars for transportation," he said. "It would mean less handling and less chance of a spill."

VX hydrolysate is expected to be transported to a commercial hazardous waste treatment facility, where it must undergo a two treatment process prior to disposal.

One such facility under consideration by the Army is about 800 miles away, the I. E. DuPont plant in New Jersey. Opposition is mounting, however, to trucking hydrolysate over highways through seven states.

Ohio Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical Weapons were successful in preventing the VX hydrolysate from being transported from Newport to be treated at Perma-Fix, a commercial hazardous waste treatment facility in Montgomery County, Ohio, near Dayton.

"Whoever has it should deal with it in the best manner possible," said Laura Rench, a spokes woman for the Ohio organization. "It's ludicrous to think about the transportation of a chemical weapon across the United States. How can they call it VX hydrolysate when it's just watered down VX? It is a huge mistake for the Army and the U.S. Government to do something so incredibly dangerous. They are becoming the terrorists, themselves, in my opinion."

Vermillion County officials are against shipping the VX byproduct off site, too.

Tim Wilson, president of the Vermillion County Board of Commissioners, believes the Army and its contractor, Hanger Mason, have done a great job maintaining and keeping the VX stockpile safe for several decades.

"I don't think they should move it," he said. "They need to let the people who have kept it safe for years continue to look after the VX until they can figure out a way to treat it on site. These people are experienced and they know what they are doing. Look at their track record."

Newport Citizens Against Incineration also oppose trucking the caustic waste over the roadways.

"Our preference is to keep it and deal with it here," said Sara Morgan of the Newport citizens group. "We don't understand the need of taking the risk and shipping it. If there is absolutely no way to do it, then proceed with the process."

Rick Rife, Parsons deputy site manager, isn't concerned about VX hyrdolysate transportation.

Parsons technologies Inc. is the company contracted by the Army to design, build and operate the destruction facility.

Rife contends there are many shipments going down the highways today that are more dangerous than VX hydrolysate.

"It's just a hazardous waste," he said. "What they are bringing in is more dangerous than what is going out. We are getting a 50 percent sodium hydroxide brought in to use in the neutralization process. What is leaving is a 5 percent residual caustic."

Some citizens are concerned because the parts per billion of VX discovered in the hyrdolysate appear to change from batch to batch.

A report conducted by an independent contractor hired by the Ohio citizens group concluded it is possible that low level VX might form during neutralization or reform afterward.

Both Morgan and Rench said the Army has not presented their groups with sufficient information to indicate what actually occurs or why VX is still present after being treated in a neutralization reactor. Rench is concerned about the analytical methods used to measure the amount of VX in the hydrolysate and whether the VX content increases in the hydrolysate if it is stored.

Brubaker can't prove or disprove VX is destroyed during neutralization, he said.

"There is no conclusive proof of residual VX agent in the hydrolysate," Brubaker said. "At no point do we believe conditions exist that VX can form or reform. There are 100 different compounds in the VX hydrolysate. Some of them could cause a response to look like VX. Once VX is mixed in the reactor with the caustic, it is destroyed in 20 seconds."

No documentation was offered to substantiate his theory.

Rife feels safe with the proposed neutralization process, he said.

"I only live about four miles from the depot in the Hillsdale area," he said.

A treaty signed by 150 nations and the United States, the Chemical Weapons Convention, stipulates all chemical weapons will be destroyed by 2007.

Brubaker thinks Newport can meet its part of the agreement.

"We feel destruction at Newport will go to support the overall objective of meeting the 2007 date," he said. "The length of operations depends upon the weight loading of VX in each batch.

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