Tuesday, December 09, 2003

Depot leak impels gas mask alert

By the East Oregonian


HERMISTON — No one was injured or exposed when vapor from a chemical weapon was detected Monday afternoon outside one of the igloos where the munitions are stored, officials at the Umatilla Chemical Depot said.

However, when the vapor was detected, all operations were halted and about 500 workers on the depot were ordered to put on their gas masks and shelter in place. The vapor was reported at 2:20 p.m. By 2:48 p.m. employees were given the all clear to remove masks and return to work, according to a news release from the Depot.

Depot officials stressed that there was no risk to the public or the environment during the incident. Emergency operations centers in Umatilla and Morrow counties and Benton County in Washington were notified of the incident, as was the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the state, but no emergency procedures were enacted off the Depot.

The low reading of GB Sarin chemical agent was detected outside an igloo where 500-pound bombs are stored during “routine chemical agent operations.” Subsequent tests next to and farther away from the igloo detected nothing. There was only one positive test, said Depot spokeswoman Mary Binder.

So-called “leakers,” chemical weapons detected to be leaking vapor, are not unusual at the Umatilla Chemical Depot. Many of the weapons are 60 years old and the munitions are deteriorating. But all the weapons are housed in protective bunkers that are monitored regularly, and any leaks have been contained in the igloos.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time we’ve detected vapors outside the structure,” Binder said this morning.

As of mid-morning today, the Army had not determined which bomb inside the igloo had leaked vapor. None of the bombs have been moved while testing continues, Binder said.

Once a leaker is detected, the normal procedure is to “overpack” the munition and put it in separate storage.

Binder noted that the incident occurred at the Depot’s agent storage area, nowhere near where an intruder was spotted last week. The intruder escaped into the dark and fog early last Wednesday and has not been found, but that incident had nothing to do with Monday’s vapor report, she said.

The Umatilla Chemical Depot stores about 12 percent of the nation’s chemical weapons supply. The United States has agreed through an international treaty to destroy its chemical weapons. An incineration complex has been completed at the Depot and is undergoing testing. Incineration is expected to begin next year.