Army to Hold Hearings on Nerve Agent

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New Jersey
NEW YORK TIMES
Army to Hold Hearings on Nerve Agent
By Maria Newman
Published: January 27, 2004

Environmentalists and elected officials who have expressed alarm with an
Army plan to dispose of neutralized VX nerve gas in the Delaware River
in South Jersey will be able to question military officials about the
process.

Officials and residents of the area, including United States Senator Jon
S. Corzine, complained earlier this month that the Army planned to bring
partially treated VX gas to Pennsville Township in Salem County, near
the Delaware Memorial Bridge, without notifying the public. In response,
Army officials said last week they were planning to hold one public
meeting and possibly two by Feb. 18.

VX was manufactured for military use as a nerve agent and is considered
among the deadliest of all chemicals, causing paralysis and death within
minutes when it is in its active stage. After the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, the federal government accelerated disposal of chemical warfare
stockpiles to prevent them from becoming targets.

The DuPont Company, which is expected to get the contract to neutralize
the VX, is conducting a "treatability" study to determine whether it can
be safely disposed of in the Delaware. Officials said they hoped to have
the results of that study in time for the public meetings.

Environmentalists and elected officials have objected to the ways the
project was proceeding. "There's been a real lack of information here,''
said Maya Van Rossum of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an
environmental group. "What in fact are they going to be doing? What are
the possible threats to the river and to people? It's not DuPont's
river. It's not the Army's river. It's our river. It's nature's river.''

Army officials said they followed requirements about public notification
by placing an advertisement in Today's Sunbeam, a Salem County
newspaper, and posting information at a public library in Pennsville
Township, where the DuPont Chambers Works, the plant that would handle
the treated nerve agent, is situated. Residents and elected officials
say the first they heard of the Army's project was in news articles in
local newspapers, when it was almost too late to meet the Army's
deadline for public comment.

After their complaints, Army officials decided to extend the period for
public comment by 60 days and to hold informational meetings by Feb. 18,
said Col. Jesse Barber, the projects manager for alternative technology
for the Army, who is in charge of getting rid of the stockpile of the VX
nerve agent.

"I will personally conduct the public information sessions,'' Colonel
Barber said. "This contract is not a done deal yet. If there are
significant problems, as a responsible government official, I have to
address those or look at what the problems are.'' He said the Army can
decide on awarding the contract, but the treatability study would
determine what additional permits they would have to seek.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/27/nyregion/27nerve.html?ex=1075784400&en=468d3873b5a89a1a&ei=5062

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