Chemical Disposal Allowed to Proceed at Umatilla

The Oregon Court of Appeals this week denied an effort to immediately stop chemical weapons incineration at the U.S. Army’s Umatilla Chemical Depot, rejecting claims in a lawsuit that emissions from the facility would harm pregnant women, breast-feeding infants and children (see GSN, Sept. 10).

In its ruling, the three-judge panel also said it expected the lawsuit filed by the group GASP to eventually fail, according to the Associated Press.

“We’re pleased that agent operations can continue,” said Dennis Murphey, program administrator for the chemical demilitarization program for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, one of the respondents to the lawsuit.

GASP lawyer Stuart Sugarman said the group is discussing its options following the court’s ruling.

The U.S. Army began destroying sarin-filled M55 rockets on Sept. 7, after years of delays caused by testing. A week later, however, workers violated a safety rule by walking into a contaminated area without the requisite protective gear, causing a temporary work stoppage. The Army resumed operations Monday (Associated Press/OregonLive.com, Sept. 21).

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