Near the end, Oregon workers suspend nerve gas
destruction
08/07/2006
Just short of its goal of destroying the last of
91,000 GB-filled M55 rockets, the Umatilla Chemical Depot suspended the
incinerations.
The agency had expected the work to be completed
Sunday. But debris jammed a conveyor unit with 256 rockets left.
Before it could be cleaned, the conveyor had to be
cooled from 1,100 degrees to room temperature, the depot said Monday. The work,
performed under treaty obligation, is expected to resume later this week.
After the depot finishes with the GB rockets, it will
start work on projectiles, which are like artillery shells, containing the
nerve agent, said spokesman Jim Hackett.
The depot is scheduled to finish the last of the work,
mustard gas munitions, by 2010-2011, he said.