By Karen Hutchinson-Talaski
Staff writer

HERMISTON — Despite of a "little glitch," the first GB Sarin rocket has been destroyed at the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF).

The glitch had to do with the failure of the feed gate to open at the shearing station. The feed gate drops chopped rocket pieces into the Deactivation Furnace System (DFS). The fuse of the rocket had been chopped off and then dropped to the gate; which didn't open as expected. The problem was traced to an emergency stop button which needed to be reset. At this point, UMCDF doesn't know why the button needed to be reset.

According to Don Barclay, Army Site Project Manager, the problem was solved by bypassing from one power source to another.

Despite the fact it took nearly four hours to finish incinerating the rocket, it was an historic day for UMCDF and the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

"Today, there's one less rocket at Umatilla to harm the public," Barclay said. "This is a very exciting moment."

Crews brought a pallet of rockets out of storage on Tuesday and placed it in an EONC (Enhanced Onsite Containers). The EONC was trucked to the UMCDF and then brought into the building by conveyor.

On Wednesday at about 9:29 a.m., crews took the first rocket off the pallet and onto the rollers which took it into one of two specially designed rooms to be drained. The rooms have walls 30 inches thick.

Three bits drilled holes into the rocket, allowing the agent inside to drain into a special holding tank. The holding tank contents will be incinerated when it is full at a later date.

Once the rocket was drained, it continued on its journey to the shearing station. A triangular shaped blade then chopped the fuse off. The shearing station makes eight chops. Each chop is then dropped onto the gate, which opens into the furnace, allowing the pieces to be destroyed.

Wednesday's milestone is significant for a number of people in the Hermiston community. Former Hermiston Mayor Frank Harkenrider praised Depot commander Lt. Col. David ‘Doc' Holliday and the team at the UMCDF for their efforts.

"After 20 years, it's a momentous decision and it's great for Hermiston," Harkenrider said. "We need to thank Lt. Col. Doc Holliday for waiting until he was certain it was safe. He did his job."

Holliday says he is proud of the work that has been started under his tenure.

"This is a significant milestone," Holliday said. "I am proud to be the first commander to start this process. Now we are ready to make this a safer world and a safer community."

Holliday went on to say he was proud of his staff and the workers at the incineration plant. He had words of high praise for them and the offpost community for their support.

The offpost community didn't appear to be too worried about the first rocket being drained.

Hermiston police chief Dan Coulombe says his office wasn't in a high state of alert.

"A lot of people put in a lot of work to get to this point," Coulombe said. "My hat's off to them."

One person wasn't too happy with what happened at the depot.

GASP's Karyn Jones said that although nothing took place that put the public at risk, it is only a matter of time before it does.

"I can't say I'm not surprised," Jones said about the gate not opening. "It happens at JCADS (Johnson Island) and at Anniston (Alabama). If they can't solve a simple problem like this, how can they solve a more complicated problem?"

According to the Chemical Weapons Working Group, the gate not opening has been a problem for over 10 years.

In a press release, Craig Williams of CWWG said that after 14 years of operating incinerators, the Army and their contractors can't fix a relatively simple mechanical problem.

"How can workers and citizens be expected to rely on their reassurances (the Army) that extremely more complex systems (ie: pollution abatement systems, carbon filtration systems, monitoring systems, etc.) are dependable and have confidence in this system?" Williams wrote.

The Army chopped two more rockets Thursday. Two more are expected to be destroyed today, two more on Saturday and four more on Sunday.

The Outreach Office will be providing additional information about the disposal operations. It can be reached at 1-888-866-5928.