Leaking rocket detected at Umatilla Chemical Depot

This story was published Wed, Oct 18, 2000

By Mary Hopkin
Herald Oregon bureau

UMATILLA - Workers Monday detected a trace amount of deadly sarin nerve agent inside a rocket's shipping and firing tube stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Depot spokesman Jim Hackett said the "leaker" was found during a routine quarterly inspection of M55 rockets.

The depot, seven miles west of Hermiston, stores 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve and mustard agents - and the largest number of Army M55 rockets, Hackett said.

There are more than 91,000 M55 rockets packed with the nerve agent GB (sarin) stored at the depot, and more than 14,000 filled with the nerve agent VX.

Both agents attack the central nervous system and can be fatal with skin contact or when inhaled.

Each M55 rocket at the depot is stored inside a fiberglass shipping tube, Hackett said. And each rocket is tested quarterly by checking the air inside the rocket's shipping and firing tubes.

Hackett said that while the crew did find trace amounts of GB inside the rocket, no vapor was detected inside or outside the storage structure, or igloo.

"The vapor poses no threat to the public or environment," Hackett said.

Crews have removed the rocket, placed it in a larger steel overpack container and moved it to an igloo that stores other leakers.

The depot has reported 130 leaking weapons since 1984, and there have been six leakers reported since January. The last was reported April 4.

Hackett said the igloos where the leakers are stored are monitored daily to ensure no chemical agent is released outside the structure.

 

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