Testimony continued Tuesday in Indianapolis, Ind., in a court hearing to determine whether VX nerve gas wastewater will be shipped to Port Arthur before and during the federal trial that will determine the legality of the disposal.

The U.S. Army signed a $49 million contract with Veolia Environmental Services in Port Arthur to incinerate about 2 million gallons of hydrolysate, the waste left over after the chemical weapon has been treated at the Newport Chemical Depot in western Indiana.

The Army shipped 103 truckloads of the waste to the Port Arthur plant but stopped on June 19 until U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney decides whether to block the transfers. The plaintiffs, which include public interest groups from across the country, claim that the transportation route that runs through eight states and cities, including Memphis, Tenn.; Jackson, Miss.; and Baton Rouge, La., poses a danger to public health and violates federal laws.

Five people testified Tuesday: an Army witness, two Army contractors and two witnesses for the plaintiffs.

The injunction hearing is scheduled to end today at 5 p.m.

McKinney, however, does not necessarily have to issue a ruling at that time, said Craig William, the director of Chemical Weapons Working Group, one of the plaintiffs. "I would be shocked if we had a ruling (today) by 5 p.m.," he said.

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