Hermiston Herald
June 10, 2002

Army won't release full assessment of risks

By Frank Lockwood
Staff writer

HERMISTON - The Army has re-assessed the risks to the public from
processing chemical weapons at Umatilla, but plans to keep the full results
secret.

Army representatives say that, unlike with the past Quantitative Risk
Assessment and its revision, they do not plan to make the documents
available to the public when the report is available this fall. Instead,
they plan to provide a "summary."

The Army reports that the QRA Phase 2 is more extensive than Phase I,
perhaps as many as 17 volumes, and does address processing risks which were
not included in Phase I, which was a one-volume document. However, copies
will not be available to the public for security reasons.

The Phase I QRA was based on Army figures which had not been adjusted to
account for infants, the infirm, and others more susceptible to nerve gas.
The Army's toxicity levels were based on healthy males. The EPA has done
new, draft AEGLs, documenting the higher risk when those populations are
included.

In the past year, it also has been widely reported that the risks from the
nerve gas VX is different than formerly believed. VX is now considered more
lethal.

Quantitative Risk Analysis Phase I was revised in 1996, and contains about 6
percent of the data and information necessary to document the plant's
safety. Much of that information is technical in nature, even in Phase I.

Details of Phase II are to be kept secret.

The Army says the public will not be able to review the full text.

According to Umatilla depot spokespersons James Hackett and Mary Binder, the
multi-volume text is expected to be off limits to the general public "for
security reasons."

Frank Lockwood may be reached at (541) 567-6457 or by e-mail at the
address flockwood@hermistonherald.com.