Colorado chemical arms wastewater to be trucked to Texas
PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — The U.S. Army plans to start trucking hazardous wastewater next week from a chemical weapons destruction plant in Colorado to an incineration facility in Texas because the Colorado plant isn't yet fully operational, officials said Friday.
The incinerator in Port Arthur, Texas, will destroy about 250,000 gallons (946,000 liters) of wastewater from the Pueblo Chemical Depot. Shipments from the southern Colorado plant to Port Arthur, about a 1,400-mile (2,200-kilometer) trek, could start Monday, depot spokesman Tom Schultz said.
Pueblo is dismantling and neutralizing shells containing mustard agent but can't yet process all of the wastewater. The shipments to Texas are expected to take a month to complete, and by that time, the Pueblo depot should be able to process all wastewater on-site.
The waste is primarily saltwater but could irritate human skin because it contains caustic chemicals used to neutralize the mustard. Officials say the wastewater contains no mustard agent.
Read more: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/texas/article/Colorado-chemical-arms-wastewater-to-be-trucked-11654297.php
