DOE pick gets letter on cleanup from Doc

This story was published Fri, Jan 5, 2001

By Mary Hopkin
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - While the Army took some heat during a hearing regarding the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's request to oversee the chemical weapon stockpile at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, nary a negative word was uttered opposing the plan.

About 25 people attended the public hearing, which was held to accept public comments on a proposal that would give the DEQ oversight of storage of the depot's complete stockpile of weapons and the ability to test and monitor for leaks.

The Army considers all chemical agent munitions and bulk items in storage, except the rockets and leaking munitions, to be nonwaste products and not subject to regulatory oversight by the DEQ.

Only about 50 percent of the depot's total munitions and 16 percent of the total weight of chemical agents stored there can be regulated by the DEQ, Thomas said.

That's why the DEQ wants oversight of the entire stockpile, which includes bombs and munitions capable of being used. Then the DEQ could independently test and monitor all the igloos.

Portland Attorney James McCandlish said the added state involvement is needed and overdue. McCandlish represents 18 depot workers who say they were injured by an alleged chemical agent release Sept. 15, 1999. The workers are suing the Army and Raytheon Demilitarization Co. for their injuries.

McCandlish said since the lawsuit has been filed, he has been contacted by even more injured workers.

"I have 68 people who say they have been injured at the site, and they all have remarkably similar injuries," McCandlish said. "Respiratory problems and blisters inside their mouths. This is why I believe these rules are necessary. We can't trust the Army to do it."

The attorney also claimed the Army's standards weren't rigorous enough.

Brian Zasso, one of the injured workers involved in the lawsuit, said the proposal is a move in the right direction but that the DEQ also needs to require better monitoring at the depot.

"That way if something is leaking we will know it," Zasso said.

Lt. Col. Tom Woloszyn, depot commander, said the Army has been working with the state and is not opposed to the new rules.

If the Environmental Quality Commission adopts the new rules, the DEQ would require the Army to take special precautions, such as adding carbon filters to capture or absorb chemical agents to the vents at the top of the igloos, preventing the agents from escaping into the atmosphere.

In addition, the Army would have to plug the two drainage ports at the base of each igloo, so chemicals could not drain outside.

Woloszyn said those two projects are already in the works. The Army is testing to see if the carbon filters are needed, and the plugs for the drainage ports have been ordered.

The Environmental Quality Commission will meet in Hermiston in early March to rule on the DEQ's request.

 

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