Defense Department sets $60 million to fund disposal of chemical weapons

This story was published Wed, Feb 2, 2000

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is releasing $60 million to dispose of chemical weapons, including those stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon, Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., said Tuesday.

President Clinton requested and Congress approved the money last year, but its release was delayed for months.

"This action suggests that the (Defense Department) is finally getting serious about its responsibility to protect the safety of area residents," Smith said in a statement.

His office could not say how much of the $60 million Oregon would receive.

A Defense Department spokesman was not available to provide further information.

The depot, seven miles west of Hermiston, stores 220,604 munitions and containers filled with 7.4Êmillion pounds of deadly nerve and mustard agents.

The Army plans to begin burning the weapons in an incinerator in October 2001.

 

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