Toxic sealant found at depot may be tied to illnesses

This story was published Fri, Apr 20, 2001

By Mary Hopkin
Herald Oregon bureau

UMATILLA - A bottle of toxic sealant has the Army wondering if the substance played a part in the mysterious illnesses that struck about three dozen Umatilla Chemical Depot workers in September 1999.

Rick Kelley of Washington Demilitarization Co. said employees were doing a routine inventory of flammable materials in storage unit at about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday when they ran across a bottle labeled methyl ethyl ketone peroxide.

The straw-colored, highly toxic substance is a fiberglass resin hardener used to seal tanks. The bottle found Wednesday had been opened and used, said Mary Binder, depot spokeswoman.

The substance can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, nose and throat, coughing, breathing difficulty, pulmonary edema, blurred vision, blisters, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and liver and kidney damage.

Lt. Col. Tom Woloszyn, depot commander, acknowledged the symptoms bear a strong resemblance to those reported by a group of injured workers suing the Army and Raytheon Demilitarization Co.

Eighteen workers of the 34 who reported symptoms 17 months ago have filed a lawsuit claiming chemical exposure made them sick.

Although no one argues that the workers were not exposed to something, the Army is adamant the nerve agents sarin and VX, which are packed inside bombs and missiles at the depot, have nothing to do with the workers' illnesses.

Although small amounts of the nerve agents were detected in the area, there wasn't enough to make anybody sick, according to several separate reports conducted by the Army, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Department of Health, and Raytheon Demilitarization Company.

But no official cause for the workers' illnesses has ever been named.

Woloszyn said the sealant has been used on base since February 1999, but said he does not know if it was being used in the incinerator plant on that day.

Binder said depot personnel were researching the possibility, but would have no answers before today.

The Oregon State Police bomb squad was called to the depot Wednesday to destroy the sealant, but after discussions with the chemical's manufacturer and other experts, the bottle was instead taken to a hazardous waste storage area on the depot.

"We played this safe," said Loren Sharp, project manager. "We took every precaution, making sure our employees were safe and that this potential hazard was isolated."

Kelley said no jobs were disrupted because of the incident and nobody was contaminated by the sealant.

About 1,000 employees work at the depot and its incinerator site, seven miles west of Hermiston.

The Army will use the plant to dispose of 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve and mustard agents stored at the depot.

 

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