Mock depot drill press release confuses some media

This story was published Thu, Feb 3, 2000

By Terry Hudson
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - While an emergency drill at the Umatilla Chemical Depot Wednesday seemed to work out fine from a local standpoint, a mock press release confused some media outlets on the western side of Oregon and Washington.

A test news release was sent to the media in both states warning of an incident at the depot. The mock release was marked as a test exercise at the top and bottom of the faxed page.

While Hermiston-area media were told in advance of the drill and subsequent press releases, public affairs personnel for the Army received several calls from Western Oregon.

"We sent the news release through a 'blast fax' about the test exercise," said Army spokesman Jim Hackett. "We did get some calls from Western Oregon media thinking it might have been the real thing. We clearly identified the news release as a test exercise.

"It tests our capability to get out the information if we did have a crisis. We sent out four news releases and cut it off after getting a few phone calls. They wanted to make sure it wasn't the real thing."

Also, the Washington State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray near Olympia sent the release to media in Washington, although it did not intend to.

Rob Harper, a spokesman at the center, said that resulted in the operations center receiving calls from the media, as well.

"We don't need to send test press releases to the media; we figure there may be some confusion," Harper said. "Today, we got that reaction from the AP. They called us and asked for a follow-up. It's labeled as an exercise - even in a closed circuit we have to take that precaution. But we didn't intend this to go out to the media."

The Camp Murray facility sent out just one test press release, telling of an accident at the depot. The top of the page was marked: EXERCISE - Do NOT publish or broadcast as an actual event.

The release said: "The accident involved chemical agent stored at the depot and could endanger residents in the immediate vicinity. In Washington state, the area that could be affected is the southern part of Benton County along the Columbia River, including the town of Plymouth."

Harper said the operations center sent out a correction within 20 minutes of the test release going out.

"I'm not aware that any media used it," he said.

Meanwhile, the actual drill was labeled a success.

"The exercise itself went exceptionally well," Hackett said. "It was a good training opportunity to test emergency readiness at the depot."

The test included a full evacuation of Raytheon employees at the incinerator construction site, including government employees.

Workers were evacuated to A Block, a group of igloos away from the K Block area where chemical agent weapons are stored. Sirens went off at the depot about 8:30 Wednesday morning. Sirens in the communities surrounding the depot were not activated.

Five mock injured workers were taken from the scene, three to the nearby occupational health clinic, and two were taken by ambulance to Good Shepherd Community Hospital in Hermiston. Hackett said the Army Public Affairs Office would re-evaluate the methods of sending out press releases during the drills.

"We may not send out complete text," Hackett said. "Just something saying there is a test exercise going on. Sometimes there is a risk of simulating it so realistically that it produces a reaction that it is real."

The incident comes at a time when confidence is extremely low in the depot's early warning notification system for area communities in the event of a depot accident.

About 3,717 tons of lethal nerve agent is stored at the depot - about 12 percent of the nation's stockpile of chemical weapons. Community nerves are still jittery after a Dec. 30 false alarm when an official tried to warn motorists about icy roads, but instead activated highway readerboards warning of a depot accident.

 

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