Bomb threat again disrupts work at Umatilla depot

This story was published Wed, Mar 8, 2000

By Terry Hudson
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - For the second time in nine days, work at the Umatilla chemical weapons incinerator construction site was interrupted by a bomb threat.

Like the bomb scare Feb. 28, Tuesday's threat came over the telephone. It was answered by a Raytheon Demilitarization Co. employee.

The call came in about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, and work was stopped for about two hours while officials searched for any suspicious materials.

There have been three bomb threats at the Umatilla Chemical Depot since May.

And officials are not sure why.

The depot, seven miles west of Hermiston, stores 220,604 munitions and containers filled with 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve and mustard agents. The Army plans to begin burning the weapons in an incinerator in October 2001.

"I'm disappointed that someone would resort to this," said Lt. Col. Tom Woloszyn, the commander at the Umatilla Chemical Depot. "It's not the kind of thing I expect to see out of anybody. I've been in the Army 19 years now and have never been part of a bomb threat before these three."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation.

"It's important to realize that this is not a joke to us. It's not just a hoax," Woloszyn said. "This is serious business, and we treat it that way. We have to evacuate people, and my crews have to go out there, and there is some risk in that. So whoever's doing this - this isn't being treated as a trivial matter by myself or the FBI."

About 1,000 construction workers and depot employees were moved away from the construction site to A-Block in the depot's southeastern area for safety and accountability. Meanwhile, Raytheon teams went into the different structures looking for anything suspicious.

"They didn't find anything," said Mary Binder, an Army spokeswoman. "The all-clear was given shortly after 9 a.m., and they returned to work."

The depot fire department responded to the construction site, and the depot's entrance gates were closed during the bomb search. Depot administrative employees continued to work.

After clearing the work site, depot and Raytheon officials followed procedures to make sure everyone was accounted for.

"That takes a while," Binder said. "You have to take into account those people who called in sick or are on leave and make sure everyone is accounted for."

Last week, about 1,000 Raytheon workers were sent home after a bomb threat.

Binder said the fact that workers were evacuated from the depot then had more to do with the time of day than anything else.

"Last week, the call came in at the end of the day," Binder said. "It came in about 2:30 p.m., and people start leaving around 3:15 p.m."

Although several law enforcement agencies were notified of the threat, Raytheon conducted its own search, and the depot's fire department responded. No off-post emergency agencies had to respond.

"As far as securing the area and having a fire and rescue response, we're self-contained," Woloszyn said. "We're very confident in the procedures we have in place and how we handle and react to these threats. We've discussed those procedures with the FBI and the Oregon State Police, and they are comfortable with what we have in place."

Like the threat last week, Woloszyn said Tuesday's threat was directed specifically at the construction site.

In response, the depot's emergency operations center was activated, and a crisis management team notified county and state emergency operations centers, law enforcement agencies and the media.

"When this happens, we have to consider building evacuation, and we have to account for all of the workers," Woloszyn said. "Their safety is paramount. Once it was determined that everything was clear, we were able to come to the decision to go back to work."

With construction of the disposal facility about 80 percent complete, Raytheon began laying off some construction workers last month.

 

Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.