HERMISTON — Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot have disassembled nine rockets and shipped the motor assemblies to a test lab seeking answers to why three fires have started during processing.

The parts were sent to the Armament Engineering and Test Center at Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J.

The nine motors were selected from three manufacturer's propellant lots connected to the rocket fires at the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in April and May. At Picatinny, the motor assemblies will go through rigorous testing and analysis to determine if the propellant was the cause of the three fires at UMCDF. The testing should take about four to six weeks.

The testing is part of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency rocket task force as it continues to perform an in-depth investigation into the fires that occurred at UMCDF and at the Pine Bluff, Ark. facility.

The fires occurred while processing drained GB-filled M55 rockets in an Explosive Containment Room designed specifically to contain such an event. At no time was there any danger to personnel or any release of agent at the time of the incidents.

Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Facility (PBCDF) had two fires while processing rockets on May 11 and 22.

Gregory St. Pierre, director of CMA's Risk Management, is the lead on the project. He has 22 years experience in chemical weapons risk mitigation and problem solving.

"We are employing the best expertise available in investigating these fires," St. Pierre said. "Chemical weapons disposal is a complex business with safety of our workers, our communities and our environment at its core. Upset conditions are expected but safety systems in place worked as designed."

The rocket task force includes experts from CMA, Washington Group International (the contractor at both Pine Bluff and Umatilla), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sandia National Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute, EG&G and the U. S. Army Armament Engineering and Technology Center.

A report by Sandia National Laboratory says that no root cause has been determined regarding the fires. The report said the wear or pitting of the shearing blades used to cut the rockets or contamination of the propellant could have been contributing factors in the fires.

From June 16 to June 22, UMCDF destroyed 1,984 GB-filled rockets without an incident. More than 25,830 pounds of agent was also destroyed during that time period. So far, 188,815 pounds of agent has been destroyed since agent operations began in September of 2004; with 18,024 GB-filled rockets destroyed. That amounts to 2.54 percent of total agent tons and 19.7 percent of GB rockets destroyed. Five storage igloos have been emptied since start-up began.

For more information, visit the CMA website at www.cma.army.mil or call the Outreach Office at 564-9339.