Newport Chemical Depot
Encyclopedia
The Newport Chemical Depot, previously known as the Wabash River Ordinance Works and the Newport Army Ammunition Plant, was a bulk chemical
storage and destruction facility in west central Indiana
, thirty miles north of Terre Haute
operated by the United States Army
. The site was used as an RDX
, TNT and heavy water production site and also served as the entire production site for VX
in the US. The total area of the depot is 7098 acres (28.7 km²).
All chemical agents (mainly the nerve gas VX
) at the site were neutralized by August 8, 2008. It was the third of the Army's nine chemical depots to completely destroy its stockpile.
to produce RDX
, a conventional explosive. The site is 6990 acres (28.3 km²) near the Wabash River. It was built during 1942-1943 by the E I Dupont de Nemours & Co. It was originally called the Wabash River Ordinance Works. The site was selected for the availability of labor, its proximity to a railroad line, electric power and water, its isolated location. Furthermore, the location had to be more than 200 miles (321.9 km) away from attack.
The plant, given the immediate need for RDX, was designed to use the Woolwich process. Consequently, the plant had less than 1/5 the production of the later Holston Ordinance Works
that was based on the improved Bachmann process.
The government acquired 21986 acres (89 km²) for the plant and construction started Jan 12, 1942. Production started July 20, 1942.
The plant was mothballed in 1946, but its RDX production was reactivated in 1951 for the Korean War.
During the 1950s, it was used to produce heavy water
for the U.S. nuclear weapons program.
Beginning in 1961, Newport became a site for chemical weapons manufacturing, producing the entire U.S. stockpile of VX
nerve agent. It was next used to store and gradually neutralize the remaining 1,270 tons
(1,152 tonnes) which were present when the U.S. chemical weapons program was stopped and transportation forbidden. The stored VX amounted to 4.1% of the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons in 1997 when the time the Chemical Weapons Convention
came into effect.
. Destruction was performed on behalf of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency by Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Inc and more than 500 civilian employees work at the facility. The site has been the largest employer in Vermillion County
since 1941, recently having employed 1,000 workers.
in which the VX was mixed with water and sodium hydroxide, heated to 194°F
(90°C
) and stirred using mechanical paddles. This process is a different method than the incineration which has been the primary manner of chemical agent destruction at other installations.
) did not accept the wastewater for treatment, it was stored on-site until the Army found another option. Waste was eventually shipped to Port Arthur, Texas
where it was processed and incinerated by the company Veolia Envirnomental Services. A lawsuit delayed the implementation of the shipments but it was dismissed by a federal judge.
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
storage and destruction facility in west central Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, thirty miles north of Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
operated by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. The site was used as an RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
, TNT and heavy water production site and also served as the entire production site for VX
VX
VX may refer to:* VX , a neurotoxic chemical warfare agent* ACES Colombia, a now-defunct airline, IATA code* vx, an airplane's best angle of climb airspeed; see V speeds...
in the US. The total area of the depot is 7098 acres (28.7 km²).
All chemical agents (mainly the nerve gas VX
VX (nerve agent)
VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...
) at the site were neutralized by August 8, 2008. It was the third of the Army's nine chemical depots to completely destroy its stockpile.
Wabash River Ordinance Works
Newport was originally founded during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to produce RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
, a conventional explosive. The site is 6990 acres (28.3 km²) near the Wabash River. It was built during 1942-1943 by the E I Dupont de Nemours & Co. It was originally called the Wabash River Ordinance Works. The site was selected for the availability of labor, its proximity to a railroad line, electric power and water, its isolated location. Furthermore, the location had to be more than 200 miles (321.9 km) away from attack.
The plant, given the immediate need for RDX, was designed to use the Woolwich process. Consequently, the plant had less than 1/5 the production of the later Holston Ordinance Works
Holston Army Ammunition Plant
The mission of Holston Army Ammunition Plant is to manufacture Research Department Explosive and High Melting Explosive for ammunition production and development. Research and development plays a vital role in the production of new and better explosives and products. It is government-owned and...
that was based on the improved Bachmann process.
The government acquired 21986 acres (89 km²) for the plant and construction started Jan 12, 1942. Production started July 20, 1942.
The plant was mothballed in 1946, but its RDX production was reactivated in 1951 for the Korean War.
Heavy water plant
In 1943-1944, the Newport Army Ammunition Plant added a heavy water plant.During the 1950s, it was used to produce heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
for the U.S. nuclear weapons program.
Production and stockpiling of Chemical weapons
In 1959, the Army built a VX facility at the site. The facility was known as the Newport Army Chemical Plant. In 1964, the Wabash River Ordinance Works and the Newport Army Chemical Plant were combined and renamed the Newport Army Ammunition Plant.Beginning in 1961, Newport became a site for chemical weapons manufacturing, producing the entire U.S. stockpile of VX
VX (nerve agent)
VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...
nerve agent. It was next used to store and gradually neutralize the remaining 1,270 tons
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
(1,152 tonnes) which were present when the U.S. chemical weapons program was stopped and transportation forbidden. The stored VX amounted to 4.1% of the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons in 1997 when the time the Chemical Weapons Convention
Chemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
came into effect.
Chemical weapons disposal
The site was used as a chemical weapons destruction facility where VX was destroyed as required under the Chemical Weapons ConventionChemical Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Its full name is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction...
. Destruction was performed on behalf of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency by Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Inc and more than 500 civilian employees work at the facility. The site has been the largest employer in Vermillion County
Vermillion County, Indiana
Vermillion County lies in western Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River. It was officially established in 1824 and was the 50th Indiana county to be formed. It is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Newport.According to the 2010...
since 1941, recently having employed 1,000 workers.
Process
The unit employed neutralization for the destruction of the chemical agent. The neutralization unit consisted of a chemical reactorChemical reactor
In chemical engineering, chemical reactors are vessels designed to contain chemical reactions. The design of a chemical reactor deals with multiple aspects of chemical engineering. Chemical engineers design reactors to maximize net present value for the given reaction...
in which the VX was mixed with water and sodium hydroxide, heated to 194°F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
(90°C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
) and stirred using mechanical paddles. This process is a different method than the incineration which has been the primary manner of chemical agent destruction at other installations.
Delays
The start of operations was delayed several years due to problems in the arrangements of the disposal of the wastewater (which contains trace - < 20ppm - amounts of VX and 4 byproducts) which at the start of destruction had not been completely solved. Since two companies (Permafix and DuPontDuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
) did not accept the wastewater for treatment, it was stored on-site until the Army found another option. Waste was eventually shipped to Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
where it was processed and incinerated by the company Veolia Envirnomental Services. A lawsuit delayed the implementation of the shipments but it was dismissed by a federal judge.
VX campaign
Destruction of VX started on May 5, 2005. On August 8, 2008, the Army had destroyed all 1,269 Ton Containers of chemical agent VX (around 300,000 gallons). This represents 100% of the original Newport stockpile. The agent destruction did not count as fully destroyed within the requirements of the Chemical Weapons Convention until the wastewater was entirely shipped to the incineration unit.Incidents
A few incidents have occurred during the destruction process including a 30-gallon spill of VX during processing on June 10, 2005. Further incidents involved spills of the hydrolysate end product. None of these incidents resulted in any injuries.Base closure
Base closure operations were completed and the facility deactivated in June 2010, marking the first full installation closure for the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency.Timeline of VX at Newport
- 1962-68: VX produced at Newport
- 1969: President Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
issues a unilateral decree halting production and transport of chemical weapons, stranding the last two batches of VX at Newport - 1999: contract for disposal of VX awarded.
- 2001: D Co. 1st Battalion 502nd Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division is assigned to secure Newport shortly after the 9/11 attacks.
- 2005, May 5: destruction of VX begins
- 2005, October: 25 short tonShort tonThe short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s (23 tonneTonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s) destroyed, less than 2.5% of stockpile http://dtirp.dtra.mil/tic/WTR/wtr_27oct05.pdf - 2006, April: 180 tons (163 tonnes) destroyed, 14% of stockpile
- 2006, July: 274 tons (249 tonnes) destroyed, 22% of stockpile
- 2007, January: 470 tons (426 tonnes) destroyed, 37% of stockpile http://www.cma.army.mil/docviewerframe.aspx?docid=003676360
- 2007, February: 520 tons (472 tonnes) destroyed, 41% of stockpile http://www.cma.army.mil/docviewerframe.aspx?docid=003676464
- 2007, September: 834 tons (757 tonnes) destroyed, 65% of stockpile http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?docid=003677331
- 2007, December: 940 tons (853 tonnes) destroyed, 74% of stockpile
- 2008, May: 1154 tons (1047 tonnes) 91% of stockpile http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?docid=003678178
- 2008, August: 1269 tons - 100% destruction of stockpile http://www.cma.army.mil/fndocumentviewer.aspx?docid=003678571