Umatilla Depot Suspends Chemical Disposal Operations to Investigate Procedural Incident

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Oregon halted agent destruction work yesterday after two workers unclamped a door inside one of the plant’s filter units, allowing a small amount of chemical agent vapor to drift into an adjacent room, the U.S. Army announced (see GSN, Nov. 12).

“Although the door was not opened, unclamping it allowed agent vapor to migrate into the adjacent room,” Steve Kirkendall, Umatilla plant manager for contractor Washington Group International, said in a press release.

The employees were not exposed to chemical agent and safety controls in the second room blocked the agent from spreading further, according to the press release.

Washington Group is expected to complete a project management review before agent operations can resume (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Dec. 2).

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