People near depot uneasy, survey says

This story was published Sun, Jul 30, 2000

By the Herald Oregon bureau

PENDLETON - A recent survey shows that 25 percent of residents living near the Umatilla Chemical Depot don't know what to do if a chemical release occurred.

The survey was commissioned by Oregon Emergency Management to determine whether the depot's neighbors are prepared for a chemical leak.

Chris Brown, manager of Oregon Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, said 800 residents living in Morrow, Umatilla and Benton Counties were asked 22 questions in a telephone survey.

About 73 percent said they know what to do if toxic chemicals are released at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, but that leaves one in four who remains confused.

"We still have a long way to go before residents nearest the depot have a thorough knowledge of what they need to do to protect themselves and their families," Brown said. "We in the CSEPP communities need to do better."

Brown said the poll was taken in June and will be repeated in September and December.

The timing of the polling coincides with a major advertising effort to raise awareness about what to do if a chemical release is ever reported.

Brown said he is confident that the "advertising campaign will help turn the corner on public awareness," which has remained low despite the depot's efforts to educate its neighbors.

The poll also showed that 30 percent of residents don't know where to go to get information about how to prepare for a chemical accident.

"It is clear that efforts to inform people about the emergency plan have reached a majority of residents," said an executive report prepared by Moore Information, Inc., the Portland public opinion research firm that conducted the survey.

"However, there is still work to be done in order to prepare everyone for an emergency. Indeed, if 25 percent of the public is doing the wrong thing in an emergency, the result would be a major catastrophe."

The depot stores Cold War munitions containing more than 3,000 tons of deadly nerve and mustard agents or about 11 percent of the nation's chemical weapons stockpile.

The Army is building a $300 million incinerator at the site and expects to incinerate the weapons during three years beginning November 2001.

 

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