LOCAL
Tuesday,
May 04, 2004
Emergency crews
test as burning start nears
By AMYJO BROWN
of the East Oregonian
ajbrown@eastoregonian.com
HERMISTON — Students in
Irrigon, Boardman, Umatilla, Hermiston, Stanfield and Echo will shelter in
place Wednesday as sirens howl.
The warning signs on Interstate 84 will flash and people in protective
suits may appear — all as part of a test of communities’ readiness to respond
to an accident at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.
“This is just a drill,” said Cheryl Siegel, spokewoman for the Umatilla
County Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP).
It’s significant, however, because Army officials have said they
hope to begin incinerating chemical munitions stored at the depot by July.
The communities have been conducting the exercise every year for
more than 10 years, with the Army coordinating activities on depot grounds
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinating activities
elsewhere.
The governor’s office signed off on the communities’ preparedness
level two years ago, Siegel said.
The depot stores 3,700 tons of chemical nerve and blister agent in
a variety of ammunition. All the weapons must be destroyed in order to comply
with an international treaty and a congressional mandate.
CSEPP Governing Board members have said in the past that specific
equipment and procedures needed to be in place before incineration begins.
The last year has seen a flurry of activity on the issue. Much of
the needed equipment is in place now and training is being conducted, said
Meg Capps, Umatilla County emergency manager, at last month’s CSEPP Governing
Board meeting.
“We’re still on target,” she said then. “It’s exciting.”
Wednesday’s exercise will be notable because it is the first to be
held during daylight hours. This is to allow all the school districts to
participate in “real time,” Chris Brown, Oregon CSEPP manager, reported to
the Governing Board last month as well.
In the past, the schools have practiced their drills separately from
the annual exercise.
This year, the drill will start in the morning between 9:30 a.m.
and 10 a.m. with a simulated chemical emergency at the depot. It will be
called in by FEMA officials stationed at the Pendleton Convention Center.
Depot officials will then simultaneously go through their emergency
procedures and notify the surrounding communities.
Local emergency managers will then coordinate activities in the towns,
including the response of the estimated 10,000 school children, teachers
and staff.
Most of the school districts are fitted with an over-pressurization
system, which will seal off the schools from the outside and filter air. In
those schools, students will stay inside. In some districts, though, an evacuation
via bus may be practiced.
Meanwhile, fire and police personnel will go through drills around
the community, likely including key intersections such as Elm Street and
Highway 395 in Hermiston.
State and federal officials from a variety of agencies will be in
town to evaluate the response. Their findings will be included in a public
comment period on incineration startup that goes through June 7 and will
help determine whether the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission will give
the final approval needed for the operations to start.
All the agencies participating in the exercise will give an initial
report Friday morning on how the activities went at the Umatilla County Justice
Center starting at 9 a.m. A formal, written report on the exercise will be
released in about 60 days.