VX Nerve Agent Spill

On March 14, the Army experienced another spill of the wastewater by-product of VX nerve agent neutralization. It is the fourth time that a spill of the so-called hydrolysate has occurred at the Newport, Ind., facility since VX neutralization began there in May 2005.

This time, about 300 gal of the caustic by-product leaked in a contained area at the facility where the nerve agent is hydrolyzed by hot sodium hydroxide and water in large reactors. Two maintenance workers in protective suiting were in the reactor bay area but were unharmed. Facility spokeswoman Terry Arthur says the by-product contained no deadly "live" VX.

The spill resulted when a reactor drain plug dislodged while the workers were trying to tighten it. Destruction of the nerve agent has been halted until the spill can be cleaned up and the Army's contractor, Parsons, determines why the plug became loose, says Lt. Col. Scott D. Kimmell, commander at the facility.

The U.S. produced VX only at Newport and ceased production in 1969. Since then, about 250,000 gal of VX has been stored on-site in 1-ton containers.

Three previous spills occurred last year in June, July, and October. The October spill of 500 gal of hydrolysate was the largest to date and was caused by defective gaskets.

The Army expects to complete first-stage processing of the 250,000 gal of VX by November 2007. The hydrolysate is produced at this stage. Originally, the Army had planned to ship the hydrolysate to a private Ohio waste treatment facility for secondary treatment, but local opposition thwarted the plan.

After that road bump, the Army decided to send the caustic wastewater to a DuPont treatment facility at Deepwater, N.J. This latest plan, which calls for secondary treatment of the hydrolysate and discharge of the effluent into the Delaware River, is opposed by Delaware and New Jersey.

The Environmental Protection Agency had raised toxicity testing issues and concerns about potential residual VX in the effluent. In February, EPA said DuPont had successfully addressed its concerns.

EPA's review is part of a larger human health assessment of the effluent being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Secondary treatment at the DuPont facility is on hold until CDC releases its report at the end of April.