LATEST NEWS
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Toxic
sarin vapor detected at Depot
HERMISTON — Workers at
the Umatilla Chemical Depot detected vapor Monday from a sarin-filled M55
rocket in storage, bringing the total number of leaking rockets found in
the last twenty years to 155.
The vapor was detected inside the rocket’s shipping and firing tube
and was not a danger to the public or the environment, according to Mary
Binder, spokesperson for the U.S. Army at the Depot.
The workers were wearing protective clothing (which included gloves,
boots and masks with hoods) and were conducting routine surveillance and
monitoring inside the storage structure. The workers chose the rocket randomly
for sampling, Binder said.
The rocket will be placed in an additional protective container and
moved into a structure with other degrading rockets.
An additional powered filter system will be installed on the storage
structure to prevent chemical agent vapor from escaping to the outside atmosphere.