[GreenYes] Alert: 470: EPA drops objections to DuPont/Army nerve poison waste-dumping

[Alan Muller <amuller@no.address>]

Green Delaware Alert #470
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EPA drops objections to DuPont/Army nerve poison waste-dumping

(But there is no reason for anyone else to.....objections remain valid)

February 25, 2006

As expected, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has dropped 
its objections to the proposal by DuPont and the U.S. Army to dump 
treated VX nerve poison wastes into the Delaware River from the 
Chambers Works plant near the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Background:

Numerous inadequacies were identified in the original DuPont reports 
attempting to justify this dumping.  Opposition was strong from the 
public everywhere and from Delaware and New Jersey 
regulators.  Delaware legislators opposed the dumping.

DuPont Chambers Works is already one of the most polluting sites in 
the world, doing enormous damage to the air and water.

Further review was requested by the Federal Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) and this agency requested EPA region II 
(covering the state of New Jersey, but not Delaware)  to review 
"potential ecological effects" on the Delaware River.

DuPont and the Army have continued a relentless lobbying effort but 
at the same time were forced to propose a more effective treatment 
process.  (Originally, they planned to simply dump the wastes into 
the existing "treatment" plant, not designed for,or able to treat 
effectively, such wastes.)

In a letter and enclosure leaked or released Friday, Feb. 24th, EPA 
official Walter Mugdan wrote: "EPA believes that all of our 
previously identified ecological concerns have been resolved."

However, EPA also says:

"DuPont plans on alternating the processing of NCH through the PACT 
system with other wastes such as Aberdeen caustic hydrolysate 
(ACH).  [Other chemical weapons wastes!] These chronic tests 
conducted to date do not take into consideration any chemical 
constituents which may remain in the PACT.  The ability to conduct 
such tests will not present itself until the actual alternate 
processing of the NCH and ACH begins.

Accordingly, EPA recommends that bioassessment studies be conducted 
in-stream to establish baseline in-stream benthic macroinvertebrate 
and fish community structure in the vicinity, including downstream of 
the DuPont discharge, before NCH processing begins.  A team, with 
members from EPA, NJDEP, DRBC, and DuPont should be established to 
design the ambient study and monitor the final processing of NCH.  In 
fact, recent correspondence that EPA has received from DuPont 
indicates that the company has already taken initial steps to 
assemble ecological baseline data from various participants in the 
Delaware River Estuary [sic] project."

EPA also notes that the present river-dumping permit:

" ...specifically prohibits the acceptance of VX hydrolysate.  In 
other words, DuPont Chambers Works is not authorized under its 
current NPDES permit to treat the Army's VX hydrolysate.  DuPont 
would need to obtain a permit modification from NJDEP in order to 
accept this wastestream."

(The full text of the letter and enclosure is available from Green Delaware.)

Comments from Green Delaware:

In typically manipulative fashion, the decision emerged on Friday 
afternoon, providing limited opportunity to contact responsible officials.

The bioassessment team proposed by EPA does not seem to include 
participation by Delaware, even thought the actual discharge of 
DuPont Chambers Works pollutants is into Delaware waters.

EPA says (above) that DuPont intends to treat and dump other chemical 
weapons wastes into the Delaware and admits that the implications of 
this are unknown, and "The ability to conduct such tests will not 
present itself until the actual alternate processing of the NCH and 
ACH begins."  This, alone, is more than enough reason to say "NO."

DuPont is controlling and manipulating investigations of the Delaware 
through stooge organizations such as the "Partnership for the 
Delaware Estuary."  (See "The Partnership with the polluters," 
http://greendel.org/item.xhtml?name=article_partnership.)

DuPont is also controlling and manipulating press coverage of 
Delaware River issues.  For example, a "News" Journal series on the 
river in August, 2005 (author mostly Victor Greto) was written from 
the perspective of regulators and polluters, with little or no input 
from advocates for cleaning up the river.

Similarly, a Feb. 16, 2006 "Cleaning up the Delaware River" article 
by reporter Molly Murray was written from the standpoint of the same 
Partnership with the Polluters.

So far, we have not received any calls from reporters regarding the 
currents news.

Since EPA admits to "numerous discussions with DuPont," we assume 
DuPont and the Army were aware of the timing of the recent releases 
and were able to perform advance manipulations on Delaware 
media.  DuPont is very good at this.

The dumping proposal is as unacceptable as ever.  Delaware and New 
Jersey officials need to be pressured to stand firm.

Governor Ruth Ann Minner:  1.800.292.9570

Green Delaware is a community based organization working on 
environment and public health issues. We try to provide information 
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