Depot confirms VX supply eliminated
Posted: Aug 11, 2008 02:21 PM

NEWPORT, Ind. (WISH) - The VX nerve agent is gone. The stockpile of the chemical has been fully eliminated from the Newport Indiana depot. It was a process that took over 3 years to complete.

For almost 40 years the Army stored the liquid chemical agent VX at the Newport Chemical Depot. There was more than 1,200 tons, in almost 1,700 steel containers, but now the VX is gone.

"Today represents the elimination of all risk to the Newport community," Site Project Manager Jeffrey Brubaker said.

I-Team 8 has followed the plant, the VX and the controversy for years. The primary concern has always been safety and how Hoosiers living in the area could be in danger.

"The previous scenario showed that VX could have traveled well over 30 miles with a large scale release and fire scenario. So the tri-county area, Vermillion, Parke, Fountain even Vigo County is now free of that risk," Brubaker said.

The Army started eliminating the VX at Newport in May of 2005. The chemical was drained out of the containers then neutralized in a reactor using water and sodium hydroxide. The final leftover mixture will be sent to Port Arthur Texas for final disposal.

Now the plant will start closing down. Buildings and equipment will be taken apart and other waste will be destroyed.

The closing process should take 18 to 24 months.

Report by Rob Youngblood, WISH. Edited by Jackie Carpenter.