Hermiston Herald
July 30, 2002

Army poised for test burns

Frank Lockwood
Staff writer

HERMISTON - As of 9:30 this morning, the Army was poised for surrogate trial
"shakedown" to begin at Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility's Liquid
Incinerator I.

At 4 p.m. Monday, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff were
drafting the letter saying the Army met all the requirements and the permit
modifications have been accepted to allow the project to move ahead. The
startup, anticipated for today, means the first of the UMCDF furnaces will
have entered the shakedown phase in which surrogate materials are used to
imitate actual chemical agent in during test burns.

The Army had hoped to begin shakedown July 11, but problems arose in the
Pollution Abatement System and in Liquid Incinerator I. Washington
Demilitarization Company's protocol officer Rick Kelly said the shakedown
might begin today. Already the "Readiness Assessment" has been completed.
Readiness Assessment is Washington Demilitarization Company's
self-evaluation that everything is ready to begin surrogate trial burns.

Shakedown Schedule

Surrogate materials were moved from storage to the Toxic Maintenance Area
inside the Munitions Demilitarization Building on July 19.

Barring the unexpected, the Army was to hear from DEQ late yesterday. Then,
a pre-planning meeting was to take place at UMCDF at 7 a.m. today (and every
day during testing) to discuss safety and other issues. At 8 a.m. today
"fine-tuning" of instruments was to begin, and at 9 a.m. surrogate materials
were to be introduced into Liquid Incinerator I, all assuming the DEQ letter
was received.

A "mini-surrogate trial burn" is planned to ensure the process is operating
safely within the limits established by the state, and in accordance with
the UMCDF permit. Then, actual surrogate trial burns will take place after
the shakedown tests have confirmed that the equipment is working as required
by the permits. Surrogate trial burn testing is expected to continue
intermittently throughout the remainder of this year.

Other UMCDF incinerators will each have their own surrogate operations later
on. The second furnace scheduled for surrogate operations will be the
Deactivation Furnace System (DFS). This furnace will destroy explosives,
residual agent and clean metal casings. After the DFS, the Liquid
Incinerator II and the Metal Parts Furnace will each undergo testing.

The Delay

Delaying the startup of shakedown operations for Liquid Incinerator I were
two separate problems, both related to differential pressure or "DP."

Differential pressure is a measurement of the gas stream between two points.
The first DP problem was in the scrubber "packed bed," which is a component
in the Pollution Abatement System. The Army used a different packing
material in the packed bed unit, which resulted in a lower differential
pressure drop across the unit than the expected.

"The new packed bed material will result in improved removal efficiencies,
so this is positive change and enhancement," reported Wayne Thomas, DEQ
administrator. The original design differential pressure was one inch and
the new number is 0.3 inches according to Thomas.

The second differential pressure issue is with the venturi following the
secondary chamber of Liquid Incinerator I. The venturi dimensions changed
as a result of the curing of the refractory brick, and therefore the
differential pressure changed as well. The DP was permitted to be less than
0.6 inches and the Army has requested less than 1.25 inches. The Army ran
tests early Friday morning and submitted the results to DEQ Friday evening.
n Other Incinerator News

Anti-incineration sources say the Army is now "making noises" that they
want to abandon the Brine Reduction Area which will mean tons of liquid
waste that will have to be shipped off site rather than being dried on site
and shipped off.

DEQ Administrator Wayne Thomas, however, reported that "the DEQ expects the
Army to fulfill the commitment to the EQC, the CTUIR and the local
communities to treat liquid wastes on site and use the Brine Reduction
Area."

Confederated Tribes sent an elected official and a staff member
representative to Friday's EQC meeting, the tribal public relations office
confirmed. The tribes oppose transportation of large volumes of liquid
UMCDF hazardous waste through tribal lands.

Recent technical problems will likely translate to a delay in commencement
of actual agent incineration. Although the UMCDF project was "back on path
to start surrogate shakedown," the February 2003, target date had changed,
Project Manager Don Barclay reported to the Citizens Advisory Commission on
June 20. "This two month delay ... has extended the agent start-up by two
months," Barclay told the CAC.

The Army has yet to respond to comments by risk analyst Jared Black
concerning the added risk to residents surrounding the depot, in view of the
EPA's new toxicity standards for the agent VX. Black said that if the new
standards were correct, even a relatively small release of VX could be
lethal to residents in neighboring towns, if it were dispersed in a "puff,"
or plume. The Army was to have reported back to the Governor's office by
July 12, that target date has changed to August 2.

Bob Flournoy of Citizens Advisory Commission reported that PMCD is
completing their review of Dr. Black's QRA assessment. The technical review
is being done by SAIC, who will prepare a report of their analysis. "As of
this morning, the Army is on track to deliver a response to the Governor's
office by August 2," Gary Anderson, deputy project manager for PMCD at
Umatilla, wrote in a general e-mail.

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Ronald Garner has stepped into the Washington Demilitarization Company
general manager position formerly held by Loren Sharp. Sharp has "moved on
to higher ground," Don Barclay reported in the June meeting of the Citizens
Advisory commission.