All of the VX is gone, but now the Newport Chemical Depot in Vermillion County is working to clean up materials that may have come into contact with either the nerve agent or the solution that resulted when it was converted into a transportable liquid.
As part of the final chapter in the history of the chemical weapons storage facility, officials at Newport have asked the State of Indiana for a permit to operate a big, hot air dryer that will evaporate any liquids that might remain on things such as valves or personal safety suits, Newport officials said Monday.
Once the items are dried, they will be packed in 55-gallon, lined drums, said Jeff Brubaker, a civilian employee of the U.S. Army and site manager at the Chemical Depot. “One of the requirements prior to shipment is to verify that there is no free liquids within the drums,” he said, adding that there are expected to be around 100 drums filled with dried materials.
After being dried, the materials in the drums will be shipped to Port Arthur, Texas, for final destruction, he said.
Exhaust from the all-electric hot air drier, which is around the size of a commercial bread oven, will be “scrubbed” in carbon filters six times before being released into the atmosphere, Brubaker said.
“The air that is exhausted passes through a carbon bed … that will trap any organic material to include potential for VX,” he said. The exhaust air is also monitored for VX, he added.
As part of the permit process, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management is seeking public comment on the request for the drier. Copies of the permit request are available at the Newport Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office, 306 S. Main St., Clinton, the Clinton Public Library and at IDEM in Indianapolis. A public meeting on the request will take place at 6 p.m. March 18 at the Clinton Public Library at Fourth and Blackman streets in Clinton.
Officials at Newport started destroying the VX in 2005. The last of the agent, after being neutralized and converted into a caustic wastewater solution, similar to drain cleaner, was incinerated at the Port Arthur facility in November, Brubaker said. In all, around 2.5 million pounds of VX from the Newport facility was destroyed.
If all goes well, IDEM could issue a permit for use of the hot air dryer as early as this spring. The drying process may take fewer than three months, Newport officials said.
Last July, around 1,000 people worked at the Newport facility. Today, about 700 people, most of whom are contract workers, remain employed there. The number of employees is expected to continue to fall to around 80 by summer 2010, said Terry Arthur, media and public liaison for the facility.
The Newport Chemical Depot stockpiled the deadly VX nerve agent for more than four decades. The agent, considered the most toxic nerve agent ever made, was produced at the facility from 1961 until 1968. At its peak, the facility covered nearly 22,000 acres.
Today, it covers less than 7,000 acres, most of which is leased farmland, forest, prairie grass or wetlands. The VX disposal facility that remains occupies only around 15 acres.
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Newport Chemical Depot cleaning materials that may have come in contact with VX
- Local & Bistate
-
-
UPDATE: 5 killed, 6 injured in I-70 van crash in Illinois
ST. LOUIS — A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times today, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Tighter Indiana drunken driving law seems unlikely
INDIANAPOLIS — Some key Indiana legislators say it’s unlikely that the state will any time soon go along with a federal safety board’s recommendation that the threshold for drunken driving be cut nearly in half.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 20, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, based on jail records.
-
Life-Size Ping Pong: Valley pickleball tourney draws large crowd to Brittlebank Park
It’s been described as “ping pong on steroids.”
Some people call it “life-size ping pong where you stand on the table.” -
Boat trip aims to raise awareness about Lewy Body Dementia
In 2013, the Year of the River, it makes sense to link a grand adventure on the Wabash River with a good cause.
-
Legislature had little taste for alcohol bills
When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Is it regulation that doesn’t make sense or evening the playing field?
I’m not much of a drinker, so I haven’t spent much time thinking about how Indiana’s alcohol laws personally impact me, but that changed last fall when my daughter got married.
-
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS: April 29-May 3
The Vigo County Health Department inspected the following food establishments April 29-May 3:
-
For Piper: Annual ‘Rush the Punter’ event dedicated to Dixie Bee student who died Wednesday after a short illness
Steve Weatherford’s “Rush the Punter” fundraiser at Fairbanks Park on Saturday was dedicated to a little girl who lost her life unexpectedly to pneumonia.
-
Vigo schools prepare to tighten belts
State funding for the Vigo County School Corp. will remain “pretty flat” for the next two years, said Donna Wilson, chief financial officer.
-
Veterans take to the trees
Cristal Bednar took photos of her husband, Justin, as he laboriously climbed his way up a “Dangle-Duo” to get to a zipline at Indiana State University’s Sycamore Outdoor Center.
-
Property owner seeks halt to Hulman Lake dam project
A Terre Haute property owner is seeking an injunction that would at least temporarily halt the city’s work on the Hulman Lake dam project.
-
Tornado veterans balance preparedness, practicality
Few things in nature are less predictable than a tornado. They can form quickly. They strike weirdly, leveling one building while leaving its neighbor untouched. They can fling a car a half-mile and turn a piece of lumber into a wall-piercing missile.
-
ISU unveils interactive Bayh Family Legacy Wall at school
A who’s who of Indiana Democrats paid tribute to Evan Bayh and several generations of the Bayh family Friday during a dedication of a new interactive display at Indiana State University.
-
Can you smell me now?
A contraband cell phone has been discovered by the Vigo County Jail’s youngest and most unique officer.
-
GIVING BACK: Steve Weatherford buys shoes for kids day before charity run
Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford, punter for the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants, showed once again his generosity Friday by donating new athletic shoes to more than two dozen Vigo County kids.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
Sunday recital at The Woods
A recital featuring songs from well-known composers is at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
-
Police investigating rash of car window shootings
Terre Haute Police are investigating a rash of shootings that have shattered car windows throughout the city.
-
City hospitals get passing grades for patient safety
Two Terre Haute hospitals have been ranked for patient safety by an independent organization that assesses safety, quality and affordability of healthcare for Americans.
-
Three from Operation Turn and Burn sentenced in federal court
Three co-conspirators in a Wabash Valley methamphetamine trafficking ring were sentenced this week to several years in federal prison.
-
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must decide if he will sign a measure allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes after the state Senate approved legislation today.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 17, 2013
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday, based on jail records.
-
I-70 resurfacing project will close westbound exit ramp
PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces the resurfacing project on Interstate 70 will close the westbound exit ramp at Indiana 243 beginning Wednesday May, 22 at about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. that same day to mill and resurface the ramp.
-
UPDATE: Fire damages buildings in downtown Greencastle
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — Fire badly damaged several buildings today near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.
-
Get outside this Memorial Day weekend
Although DNR campgrounds and cabins at state parks, state reservoirs and recreation areas are booked to capacity for Memorial Day weekend, some shelters remain available for picnics and other day-use gatherings.
-
Skateboarders, BMX bike riders working to improve area of city park they use
The sound of small wheels rolling across smooth concrete fills the air, accented by the clacking noise of a wooden skateboard coming to an instant stop on a metal edge before rolling on again.
-
Indiana State to host 2014 MVC baseball tourney
Build it… and they will come. The Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State University made that famous line from the movie “Fields Of Dreams” reality Thursday.
-
Overlay recommended for 812 area code
The state agency that represents Hoosier utility customers is calling for a ten-digit solution to southern Indiana’s vanishing supply of 812 area code telephone numbers.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas
Today in History for May 20th
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Today in History for May 19th
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window
RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Justin Bieber Gets Booed
New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer, Drake Joins List of Rumored Cameos
Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction
Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom
Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt
Grizzly bear gets up close and personal with camera
Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
Who is $600M Powerball winner in Fla.?
Top 5 Plays of the Day
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel
