Releasing diluted poison into river to be discussed

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Delaware
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Releasing diluted poison into river to be discussed
An Army proposal would dispose of neutralized nerve gas in the Delaware.

By Dawn Fallik
Posted on Thu, Mar. 11, 2004

After a deluge of public demand, the Army will hold two information
sessions next week to discuss its plans to dispose of diluted toxic
nerve gas in the Delaware River.

The proposal would bring about 1,600 tons of the neutralized nerve agent
VX, now housed in Indiana, to a Salem County facility for treatment
before the diluted waste would be released into the river. The Army
hopes the first shipment will arrive around October at DuPont's Chambers
Works Secure Environmental Treatment Unit in Deepwater, N.J.

"We want people to have accurate information about this project," said
Anthony Farina, a spokesman for DuPont, which is cohosting the meetings
in Carneys Point, N.J., and Wilmington. "We want to address concerns
about a very broad range of topics, from technical assessments,
transportation safety, treatability, and the environmental impact."

Environmental and political officials had raised concerns about the way
the Army announced its plans - running a small ad in a Salem newspaper.
They wanted to know why public discussions were not being held in
affected areas, as they had been when the Army tried to dispose of the
waste in Dayton, Ohio, a $9 million contract that was rejected after
public outcry.

"We're being asked to be the guinea pigs for this. It's not being done
anywhere else," said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D., N.J.), who wrote a
letter to the Army requesting the public sessions.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/8155633.htm

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