WHEREAS, Created in the United Kingdom
in the early 1950s, VX (which refers to its U.S. Army codename) is a human-made
chemical warfare agent classified as a nerve agent; and
WHEREAS, VX, the only significant
nerve agent created since World War II, was manufactured for military use and
is considered among the deadliest of all chemicals, causing paralysis and death
within minutes when it is in its active stage; and
WHEREAS, VX is the least volatile of
the nerve agents and is the slowest to evaporate from a liquid into a vapor,
therefore making it very persistent in the environment; and
WHEREAS, VX should be considered a
long term threat as well as a short term threat because it evaporates so
slowly, making it imperative that any surface contaminated with VX be
considered a long term hazard; and
WHEREAS, Delaware
has adopted several comprehensive water measures in the past to ensure that its
resources are protected from pollution; and
WHEREAS, The United States Army is
considering shipping VX (hydrolysate) waste to a Hazardous Waste Treatment
Facility in New Jersey which, after treating the waste VX, would discharge the
treated waste into the Delaware River; and
WHEREAS,
It is in the best interest of the State of Delaware
to prohibit the discharge of treated nerve agent VX (hydrolysate) wastes in the
Delaware River in order to preserve our resources and
environment from pollution and contamination.
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 142nd
General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring
therein, that the United States Army is hereby urged to not treat nerve agent
VX (hydrolysate) anywhere in the Delaware Valley.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States
Army is encouraged to ensure that all VX hydrolysate is safely destroyed at the
Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana, ensuring maximum protection for the environment, the general public,
and the personnel who are involved in the destruction of the lethal chemical
agent.
