Oregon accuses depot of failing to tell public about emergencies

This story was published Wed, Aug 22, 2001

By Mary Hopkin
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON - The Umatilla Chemical Depot Emergency Operations Center has failed to accurately and consistently notify the public in the case of an emergency in a timely matter during its annual exercises.

And that has the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality concerned.

Wayne Thomas, DEQ administrator for the chemical demilitarization program, sent a letter July 30 to Lt. Col. Fred Pellissier, depot commander, asking for a work plan to rectify the problems by Sept. 15. Pellissier took over command of the depot July 26.

Thomas said errors during the exercises delayed the amount of time it took to notify the public. If the exercises had been actual emergencies, the public could have been placed in danger, Thomas said.

During the annual May exercises, a chemical release is simulated using specific predetermined weather conditions. The information is fed into computers, which alert the depot's emergency operations staff where and how quickly the plume will travel. Based on that information, depot personnel notify surrounding communities through county emergency operations centers within 10 minutes.

Thomas said that in 1998, the depot analyst failed to include weather information when programming the computer. And as a result the mock plume didn't go where a real plume would have gone had the weather conditions been the same. The computer failed to alert people in a zone in Umatilla County. If it had been a real event, people living in that zone would not have been told to evacuate or shelter-in-place, possibly causing chemical exposure.

Similar mistakes were made during the 2000 and 2001 exercises. In all three cases, inaccurate information fed into the computer resulted in officials predicting a smaller plume than what would have actually occurred, he said.

In addition, wrong information was given to county emergency operations centers from the depot emergency staff in 1998 and 1999, Thomas said.

Depot spokesman Mary Binder said the Army is working on a response to the DEQ letter, but that there is nothing unusual about mistakes during exercises. In fact, that is why the Army does so many drills, she said.

"We exercise and train regularly to identify skills and training needs," Binder said. "That's ongoing."

Binder said each scenario is different to test the operators skills and to help them learn.

"The trainers are good at coming up with complicated scenarios and they want to test us," she said. "You are dealing with a lot of tight demands within a 10-minute time frame. It's an ongoing challenge."

Umatilla County Commissioner Dennis Doherty said he is not overly concerned about the issues brought up in Thomas' letter. Doherty, chairman of the Oregon Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program's governing board, said Pellissier was asked about the letter during the board's last meeting.

"He acknowledged the letter and said he would bring direct, speedy attention to the matter," Doherty said. "For now, that's enough for me."

Chris Dearth, the environmental projects director for Gov. John Kitzhaber, said the governor is aware of the letter and is anxious to see what the Army's response is.

Kitzhaber has appointed a 20-member Executive Review Panel to make sure all emergency procedures are in order.

He has said he won't allow test burning to begin before getting a recommendation from the panel that the community is adequately prepared for a chemical emergency.

Dearth said Kitzhaber has not traveled to Eastern Oregon yet to tour the completed incinerator plant that will be used to destroy the 3,717 tons of deadly nerve and mustard agents stored at the depot, and the governor has no immediate plans to make the trip.

"It's not on his schedule," Dearth said.

 

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