A substance so lethal that just a drop can kill you.

It's VX nerve agent made during the Cold War and the Army promises to destroy it by neutralization.

Army officials say the deadly agent stored at the Newport Chemical Depot just north of Terre Haute, nears destruction after many delays. But locals aren't holding their breath.

Denise Mitchell has lived down the road from the deadly nerve agent for many decades. She raised her kids in Newport, and now her grandchildren play in the yard.  She says the lethal liquid is just a fact of life here. "We are more concerned about a tornado coming and wiping out Newport than the V-X.  It's been here longer than I have."

Like many folks in Newport, she's not sure when the V-X will be destroyed. "I think eventually it will be, but I don't know when and I'm not sure if anybody else does either."

But after pushing the deadline back many times, the Army says this is the real deal. Spokesman Richard Goetz says, "We do expect to be able to go into full operations this summer."

Several tanks have arrived here at Newport Chemical Depot. Army officials hope the tanks will be used to ship wastewater from the neutralization to New Jersey. However, many neighbors in New Jersey oppose treating the wastewater near them.

So the Army has a back-up plan, "We have looked at putting a tank farm in to store it on-site."

Mitchell says keeping the waste here is only right. She says folks in Newport don't want to shove their problems off on others.

Army officials say they'll test the destruction process in July. If tests go well, they will start the full-scale neutralization in September.