DuPont Will Not Accept Contract Until CDC Completes Army Wastewater Project Review

WILMINGTON, Del.,  April 08, 2004  —  DuPont today announced that it will not accept a contract to transport and treat the wastewater generated from the U.S. Army's Newport (Indiana) site until the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) completes a formal review of the Army's proposal.

DuPont will also address the specific technical questions that have been raised by Delaware and New Jersey regulatory agencies regarding the proposal to transport and treat the resulting wastewater from the Army's nerve agent destruction process in Indiana at the DuPont Secure Environmental Treatment (SET) facility at the Chambers Works site in Deepwater, N.J.

"Technical assessments by a number of DuPont scientists with broad experience in this area concluded this proposal could be accomplished in a safe and environmentally sound manner and poses no unique hazards," said Nick Fanandakis, vice president and general manager of DuPont Chemical Solutions Enterprise. "While we are confident in our science, we also understand that the community and regulatory agencies have concerns and we want to address them. We will not proceed until the CDC conducts its formal review."

The Delaware and New Jersey Congressional delegations requested the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health on March 29 to conduct a formal review of the Army's proposal.

In addition, DuPont is calling for an independent, third-party review of the wastewater proposal which could include a study of the impact of the SET effluent relative to this proposal on the Delaware River. Such a study could include doing a baseline assessment of the river before the Newport project begins and regular monitoring to assure that the project has no negative effects on the river.

DuPont has completed a series of technical assessments, addressing a broad range of subjects on the capabilities of the DuPont SET facility to potentially assist the Army on the national security initiative. The four technical assessments were:

• Transportation safety and risk management
• Treatability of the wastewater by DuPont-patented technology
• Screening level of environmental risk to the Delaware River
• Toxicology assessment of health hazards.

The 350-page DuPont research study concluded that the proposed project can be accomplished in a safe and environmentally sound manner and poses no unique hazards.

In addition, third-party reviews of the specific technical assessments were conducted by independent scientists who have expertise in specific fields.

Scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science reviewed the screening level of environmental risk to the Delaware River assessment; Virginia Polytechnic Institute reviewed the treatability of the wastewater by DuPont-patented SET technology assessment, and; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the toxicology assessment of health hazards. The independent scientists' comments were reviewed, assessed and incorporated as appropriate to improve the quality and accuracy of the final specific technical assessments.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

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04/08/04