Powdery substance found at Umatilla Chemical Depot

Published Oct. 19, 2001

Mary Hopkin
Herald Valley bureau

HERMISTON - A white sugarlike substance was found inside an envelope opened by a Washington Demilitarization employee Wednesday at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Army spokeswoman Mary Binder said the employee found the substance inside an 11-by-17-inch white envelope while opening mail at the incinerator site's document control center.

"(The envelope) was from a vendor in New York state that we normally deal with," Binder said. "It was nothing unusual."

Binder said the envelope contained a quality verification document for equipment at the incinerator and a white granular substance, that resembled sugar or salt. "It was loose and some of the material fell out," she said.

About 11 employees were taken to the depot's medical clinic and are being monitored. Binder said the employees weren't being tested for anthrax yet, but the Army was discussing the matter. The depot clinic doesn't have the capability to test for anthrax, she added.

Binder said the hazardous materials team from the depot went to the site Wednesday, double-bagged the enveloped and decontaminated the area. On Thursday, Army experts in chemical and biological weapons from Dougway Proving Ground in Utah collected the envelope and took it back to Utah for testing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating.

 

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