The neutralization of V-X nerve agent at the Newport Chemical Depot is one step closer today after the release of a study that says the disposal of the byproduct in New Jersey is safe for the environment.

V-X is a nerve agent that can cause paralysis and death with even a drop, and it's currently stored in Newport, Indiana.

Under the current plan, the V-X will be neutralized at the Newport Chemical Depot and then transported to a water treatment plant in New Jersey.  The wastewater would eventually end up in the Delaware River.

The current deadline for neutralization is this June.  Depot officials say the study puts them on track to meet the deadline.

But in Newport today, people were less optimistic.

It's a story they've been hearing for years in Newport.  The deadly nerve agent stored just down the road will be neutralized and disposed of soon. 

Now, a new study is out.  It says the wastewater does not pose any unique concerns in transportation, risks for all transportation routes are very low, and the anticipated discharge levels to the Delaware River are not toxic to aquatic organisms.

Newport Depot site project manager Jeffrey Brubaker says the study keeps them on track for neutralization in June.  "We're working towards the June timeframe to begin agent destruction of the stockpile."

But in Newport, people aren't quite so optimistic it will happen that soon.  Resident Brenda Cutrell says, "Do I think it will get done? Yeah, eventually. Maybe not in their timeframe but eventually."

And the President of the Vermillion County Comission doesn't like the plan as it stands now. Tim Wilson says, "I don't think we should push it off on any other state. And taking it offsite also endangers the people of my county and I don't want to take responsibility for that."

Wilson says more safety precautions are needed now, and during the neutralization process.

But Brubaker says the neutralization poses no new dangers.  "For the folks that live in the community it will be business as usual."

And that's good news for the folks in Newport, whenever the neutralization finally does happen.

The U.S. Army will be holding information sessions in New Jersey about the V-X wastewater disposal.

An earlier plan to dispose of the wastewater in Ohio was shot down when neighbors objected to the wastewater being disposed of near them.