Mid-Columbia news
Umatilla Chemical Depot starts destroying VX-filled M55 rockets
Published Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
JEANNINE KORANDA HERALD OREGON BUREAUHERMISTON -- Crews at the Umatilla Chemical Depot incinerator Monday began destroying the site's second type of nerve agent -- VX-filled M55 rockets.
Workers fed the first of the 14,519 rockets into one of two heavily reinforced rooms. Safely inside, the rockets were drained of their deadly liquid, then sliced into eight sections before being incinerated.
It's the same process the plant used to destroy about 91,000 GB sarin-filled rockets.
The first rocket came out of the incinerator's deactivation furnace about 12:45 p.m. Monday, said depot spokesman Bruce Henrickson.
"This is another landmark day for the Umatilla project," said Don Barclay, site project manager for the Army. "Our team is pleased to get started on its second agent campaign, and we'll continue working toward making our community safer."
Crews on the day shift planned to feed 10 rockets through one line, then the night shift crew will feed 20 rockets through a second processing line, said Hal McCune, with Washington Group International, the company hired to run the incinerator.
Plant officials expect to slowly build up to running the facility at full speed. The Umatilla incinerator can destroy 40 rockets in an hour but typically processes fewer.
The plant could start burning the liquid nerve agent in the liquid incinerator later this week, McCune said. It is expected to take about four months to destroy the Hermiston site's rocket stockpile.
Like GB sarin, which the incinerator finished destroying in July, VX attacks the central nervous system and can cause seizures, paralysis and even death in extreme cases.
While the agents cause the same reactions, sarin is considered more dangerous to the public because it evaporates at the rate of water, while VX -- a clear, oily and scentless liquid that evaporates more like vegetable oil, according to the Army.
Its primary danger comes if it touches the skin.
As crews are working through the rocket cache, they also will destroy the depot's 156 spray tanks, then the site's estimated 36,000 155mm and 8-inch projectiles and finish with 11,685 land mines.
Officials think it will take about 11/2 years to destroy all of the site's VX nerve agent.
When that is done, workers at the plant will make modifications to begin destroying mustard blister agent from World War II that has been stored at the depot since the 60s.