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Umatilla Depot Workers to Be Retrained in Wake of “Near-Miss” Chemical Exposure Incident
Chemical weapons destruction has been suspended and all 700 workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon are scheduled to be retrained in the wake of a Dec. 1 safety incident that one facility official called a “near-miss,” the East Oregonian reported (see GSN, Dec. 16). Two workers put at least themselves at risk of chemical exposure when they unclamped a working filter in the building’s ventilation system. “We’re taking this event very seriously,” Doug Hamrick, manager for U.S. Army contractor Washington Demilitarization Co., said Thursday. “We could have hurt somebody.” The Dec. 1 incident was the third to temporarily halt disposal of the 7.4 million pounds of chemical weapons stored at the facility, the East Oregonian reported. Employees in two events ignored markings on doors warning them not to enter an area, and on both occasions were not wearing the appropriate level of protective gear, said Dennis Murphey, administrator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s chemical demilitarization program. “Everybody I’ve talked to is really stunned it happened,” Murphey said. “It’s extremely important that all the workers recognize and appreciate the consequences of the actions they’re taking.” Washington Demilitarization is requiring that all depot personnel meet individually with supervisors to make sure they understand safety procedures. One employee from each work shift will be designated to monitor communications between workers, supervisors and the building control room, the East Oregonian reported. There is no set schedule for the resumption of chemical weapons destruction (Amy Jo Brown, East Oregonian, Dec. 17). The Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, which funds equipment for emergency responders and emergency management and planning for a potential attack on the Umatilla Chemical Depot, will not be eliminated, said Dale Ormond, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army’s program to eliminate chemical weapons. “I am not here to eliminate the CSEPP program,” Ormond said Thursday at a public meeting in Hermiston, Ore. “As a steward of taxpayer dollars, I am asking the question ‘does the capability to provide protection change as the stockpiles are destroyed?’” he said. Umatilla and Morrow counties in Oregon have received about $90 million in CSEPP funds, according to the Government Accountability Office (Amy Jo Brown, East Oregonian, Dec. 17). Meanwhile, Umatilla workers detected a trace amount of sarin vapor Sunday inside a storage structure, the U.S. Army said in a press release. Most weapons in the structure have previously leaked and are packed in larger containers. The structure’s “passive” filter system prevents vapor from escaping. As an additional safety precaution, a powered filter system was installed Sunday, according to the Army. A crew was expected to enter the structure yesterday to locate the source of the vapor, according to the statement (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Dec. 20).
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