Umatilla Depot Vapor-Escape Incident Caused by Procedural Failures, U.S. Army Report Says

Two workers allowed sarin vapor to escape from filter units at the Umatilla Chemical Depot earlier this month by performing work they had not been assigned and ignoring posted warnings to avoid opening a door, according to a report distributed to U.S. Army officials and state regulators on Monday (see GSN, Dec. 15).

Chemical weapons destruction is not likely to resume at the depot this week, said Dennis Murphey, administrator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s chemical demilitarization program.

“It’s not going to happen, there’s no way,” Murphey said. He said he expects depot officials to ensure such an incident is not repeated.

The report recommends disciplinary action for the two maintenance workers, the East Oregonian reported Tuesday.

The employees were not exposed to sarin, and the chemical was not released into the atmosphere, depot officials said (Amy Jo Brown, The East Oregonian, Dec. 14).

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