NEWS OF THE WEEK CHEMICAL WEAPONS
ARMY HALTS VX DESTRUCTION Waste by-product of Indiana nerve agent neutralization is flammable
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HE ARMY'S CONTROVERSIAL
and problem-plagued plan to destroy V X nerve agent stored at Newport, Ind., just hit another snag: The waste byproduct of V X neutralization is flammable. Under current plans, the Army would neutralize VXat Newport and transport the by-product, called hydrolysate, to a DuPont facility in Newjersey for secondary treatment and ultimate disposal in the Delaware River. But continued V X destruction along with the transport plans came to a halt when the Army discovered during lab testing that the hydrolysate has a flash point of 68-88 °F instead of an expected flash point ofgreater than 2 0 0 °F. Previous bench-scale tests conducted at the Army's Edgewood, Md., labs found that the hydrolysate formed from neutralization of V X samples taken from Newport's stockpile had the higher flash point, explains Army spokeswoman Terry Arthur. She says a team of engineers is now working to explain the difference. One possible explanation for the lower flash point is the formation of diisopropylamine during neutralization of the larger quantities of V X at Newport, a formation that did not occur in the earlier Edgewood lab tests. Any material below the 2 0 0 degree threshold is considered flammable, and DuPont's Secure Environmental Treatment at Deepwater, N J., does not handle flammable waste. The flammability of the hydrolysate "is new information and different from that in the Army's original proposal to us," says DuPont spokesman WWW.CEN-0NLINE.ORG
Anthony Farina. "The Army has pledged to address the problem and believes that it can be addressed. Well wait to see where it ends up," he adds. ? The Army had planned a pause in its destruction schedule to assess the neutralization process, but before the pause could occur, a 30-gal spill of V X had already forced operations to shut down (C&EN,June 20, page 22). Neutralization had not yet resumed when on-site lab tests conducted "as part of a waste profile needed for commercial posttreatment'' revealed the flammability problem, Arthur says. l b date, the Army has neutralized more than 3,000 gal of the more than 250,000 gal of V X stored at Newport over the past 35 years. The spill and the flammability
problem prompted Rep. Rob E. Andrews (D-NJ.) and Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ.) to express their concerns to Secretary ofthe Army FrancisJ. Harvey In ajune 30 letter, they write that, given the inherent risks in V X destruction, "the Army should minimize these risks by treating all of the V X hydrolysate on-site at Newport.w Andrews cites the feet that the "VX hydrolysate is three times more flammable than we were originally told {as] further evidence to support on-site treatment of this unpredictable hazardous waste." And Corzine, who is the Democratic nomineeforgovernor has said that if elected, he would block any environmental permits needed by DuPont to treat the hydrolysate. — LOIS EM BER
PREPARATION Technician attaches hoses to a steel tank that will be drained of its VX contents.
POLYOLEFINS
Statoil To Sell Borealis Stake To Partners
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he Norwegian state oil firm Statoil is selling its 50% holding in the European polyolefins joint venture Borealis to existing shareholders International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and Austrian refiner 0MV. The sale, valued at about $1.2 billion, is meant to accelerate Borealis' growth, particularly in the Middle East. When it is complete, IPIC's stake in Borealis will have increased from 25% to 65%, and OMV's, from 25% to 35%. IPIC also has a 17.6% share in 0MV. Statoil will receive $1.1 billion in cash from 0MV and IPIC as well as a $100 million dividend from Borealis for 2005. 0MV and IPIC are also reviewing an initial public offering of a significant stake in Borealis, which generated $5.75 billion in sales in 2004. Abu Dhabi-government-owned IPIC says the
purchase will strengthen Borealis' hand in the Middle East. After IPIC and 0MV bought their initial stake in Borealis from Finland's Neste in 1998, Borealis and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. built the ethylene/polyethylene joint venture Borouge in the United Arab Emirates. Borouge is now considering an expansion that will more than double its total output. Borealis is also a major customer of 0MV in Austria, processing some 85% of the petrochemicals 0MV produces there. Borealis is coordinating a polyethylene expansion in Schwechat, Austria, with an 0MV cracker upgrade. Separately, Borealis says it is expanding ethylene capacity by 50,000 metric tons per year and propylene capacity by 23,000 metric tons per year in Porvoo, Finland, in a project to be completed in 2007.-ALEXTULLO C & E N / JULY 1 1 , 2005
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