Scientists came to investigate strange smells at depot

HERMISTON, Ore. (AP) — Scientists from the U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency headquarters are coming to Eastern Oregon to investigate workers' reports of strange smells at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Spokeswoman Mary Binder said officials at the depot still have no explanation for what may have affected four employees in two separate incidents occurring in mid-October and early November.

Depot staff has already checked for any chemical agent release and found no sign of that, she said; all four employees were tested for exposure to chemical agents, but the tests came back negative.

The Army scientists arriving next week will comb the site for any causes of the smells the staff may have missed, Binder said.

The two incidents were several weeks apart and the locations were a mile apart. The depot workers, in groups of two, reported runny noses and watery eyes after detecting strange smells.

The reports raised concerns because of their similarity to a 1999 incident in which dozens of construction workers at the depot mysteriously became ill. The exact cause of that incident was never determined; a judge recently found that the Army was not responsible.

The depot stores about 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve and blister agents in a variety of munitions, about 12 percent of the national stockpile.

Incineration of the agent began about a month ago and is calculated to take about six years.