Monday, February 27, 2006

DuPont to dump treated wastewater

I would be nervous if I was in any way dependent on the water of the Delaware River. Because:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won't oppose the U.S. Department of Defense and DuPont Co.'s plan to dump a wastewater byproduct of a deadly nerve agent into the Delaware River.

The agency said it's assured of a safe treatment for up to 4 million gallons of caustic wastewater created in the treatment for VX, a chemical weapon with a pinhead-size potency to kill a human. DuPont is treating VX for disposal at its Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana.

The agent, once neutralized, would be shipped to DuPont's Chambers Works plant in Deepwater, N.J., for discharge into the river.

I would be concerned for several reasons:
1. Its DuPont. They have a history of environmental disregard, and a history of trying to hide and spin the results of said environmental disregard.
2. Its the Bush administration. The Bush administration has a history of lax enforcement of environmental regulations.

Does this mean that the treated water won't be safe? No, it does not. Frankly, I know nothing about VX and the cleanup process; it could be the case that the new procedure developed by DuPont will render the water perfectly safe. But DuPont and the Bush administration have not acted in a manner that should give anyone the peace of mind to trust them. The people whose lives might be affected by this decision should be extremely weary, and should definitely look to inform themselves on this issue.

Remember, this is an administration that has sought to lower the value of a human life.

No comments: