The Army still plans to haul byproduct from the disposal of
deadly VX nerve agent to a commercial hazardous waste site despite opposition
that killed plans to use one such site in Ohio.
A treatment plant could begin neutralizing VX stored at the
Newport Chemical Depot north of Terre Haute as early as next spring, said
Col. Jesse L. Barber, a project manager for the Army Chemical Materials Agency.
The process the Army now plans to use to neutralize the nerve
agent is safer, but will take longer and create more byproduct, Barber told
about 75 people Wednesday during a meeting at South Vermillion High School.
The new process could double or quadruple the 900,000 gallons
of waste byproduct, called hydrolysate, compared with the former process,
Barber said.
The contractor handling the disposal for the Army originally
planned to transport the hydrolysate about 200 miles to a treatment and disposal
facility near Dayton, Ohio. But it dropped that plan in October after Dayton
residents complained about the planned disposal of the treated waste in the
city's sewer system.
Barber said Wednesday he had reviewed four options for disposal
of the hydrolysate and eliminated all but off-site disposal.
"Off-site treatment gives you more bang for the buck," Barber
said. "It allows the project to continue on track for 2004 and keeps the
public safe and keeps the environment safe."
"The greatest risk is continued storage," he added.
None of the byproduct will be removed from Newport until tests
show it meets the Army's goal of 20 parts per billion or less of VX in the
hydrolysate, Barber said. Contractors had not been able to meet that goal
using the former process.
The new process will destroy the VX more effectively, but
at a slower rate, Barber said. That also will result in more hydrolysate.
The VX was scheduled to be destroyed by April 2007 under the
Chemical Weapons Convention international treaty. Congress ordered the process
sped up following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Information from: The Tribune-Star
