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Newport CW Depot Nerve Agent Spill Contained
A spill of 30 gallons of liquid containing VX nerve agent at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana was contained without harming anyone, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, May 31). Workers used a mixture of water and sodium hydroxide on Saturday to clean the area where the spill occurred. “It is being done very cautiously and deliberately,” said Terry Arthur, spokeswoman for the facility, adding that no workers were hurt. The U.S. Army said in a press release that the spill of a mixture of VX and hydrolysate wastewater occurred when the agent was being loaded into a reactor for neutralization. The nerve agent drained into the “Toxic Cubicle,” a pit in the floor below the reactor that prevents nerve agent from reaching other parts of the facility. It was then routed to a tank which holds used decontamination liquid. This is the first spill at the site since destruction began May 5, Arthur said (Associated Press/Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, June 12). The Army said Friday that 2,894 gallons of VX had been neutralized at the facility. Officials plan to briefly halt operations this week for a review of progress at Newport (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency press release, June 10).
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