Rich Van Wyk/Eyewitness News

Newport, March 15 - Newport is neighbor to one of the world's most feared weapons. Yet many folks there don't seem to care.

"They are afraid it is going to blow up," says one resident. "They are afraid of suicide bombers and terrorist attacks out there. There ain't no danger out there, baloney."

With VX nerve agent a single drop is lethal. Steel containers hold an estimated quarter million gallons.

Once an integral part of American's chemical weapon's arsenal, it is an obsolete, yet deadly legacy of the cold war.

"The biggest danger is that we continue to wait. This agent is at its safest place when it is destroyed." Lt. Colonel Scott Kimmell commands the Newport Army Depot, which is preparing to neutralize the VX nerve agent, manufactured and stored in Newport since the mid 1960s.

Workers will drain the storage containers, then mix the VX with other chemicals at near boiling temperatures, creating two million gallons of a highly caustic, yet comparatively safe, byproduct.

"To be in charge of destroying a deadly weapon and making the world a little safer, that is a neat responsibility to have. I hold it very dear," says Lt. Kimmell.

The Army insists workers are highly trained and the equipment is rigorously tested with numerous safety systems in place.

Clyde Cutrell earned Purple Hearts and Battle Stars in World War II, then worked in the depot. Combat and highway traffic scared him more than VX. "I'm not afraid of it. It's dangerous, don't get me wrong, it's dangerous. I never worried one bit."

But there is an emergency warning radio in the corner. Many families have duck tape and plastic sheets ready to protect themselves.

Brigit Steinbrenner say's she's not worried, but will be glad when the VX is gone. "It will ease the community, with all the threats now-a-days. Look how vunerable with it right out there."