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Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Vapor leak detected at chemical depot

By the East Oregonian
eonews@eastoregonian.com


HERMISTON — Umatilla Chemical Depot workers detected a trace amount of GB nerve agent vapor during routine monitoring inside a storage structure Sunday.

The structure is filled with weapons that have previously leaked and has a passive filter system, which prevents the vapor from escaping to the outside atmosphere.

As a further protective measure, workers installed a powered filter system Sunday.

Leaking weapons are not uncommon at the depot. Workers have identified 155 leaking munitions during the last 20 years.