Global Security Newswire

The Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon yesterday finished destroying its entire stockpile of munitions filled with VX nerve agent, the Hermiston Herald reported (see GSN, Oct. 15).

"We plan to complete the VX land mines disposal campaign today, which means the end of land mines, all VX agent, all nerve agent, and all munitions with explosive or energetic components here in Oregon," said Mike Strong, site project manager disposal at Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (Hermiston Herald, Nov. 5).

The U.S. Army has now eliminated 95 percent of its original arsenal of VX; the nerve agent remains in storage at only two U.S. locations (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Nov. 6).

Umatilla now must prepare to dispose of mustard agent.

“We're not done yet, and we won't let our guard down," Strong said.

The facility is scheduled to be retooled over several months before it starts incinerating blister agent stored in 1-ton containers (see GSN, Nov. 4; Hermiston Herald).

The mustard agent campaign is expected to last between one and two years, the Tri-City, Wash., Herald reported.

Eliminating the VX munitions constitutes a significant safety improvement for the surrounding region, said depot spokesman Bruce Henrickson. The base no longer has any chemical weapons with explosive parts and mustard agent is five times heavier than air, meaning it is not likely to travel off-base in vapor form, he said.

That argument did not stop a group of activists from suing to stop mustard incineration. The Sierra Club and other organizations claim the operation would release mercury and other contaminants into the air (Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald, Nov. 6).