Students learn about depot's chemicals from the source

Published Nov. 16, 2001

Kristina Lord
Herald staff writer

Niki Guin didn't know deadly chemicals were stored 35 miles south of the Tri-Cities.

She was surprised when officials from the Umatilla Chemical Depot visited her biology class at Kennewick High School on Thursday and told her the facts.

Guin, 14, a ninth-grader, has lived in the Tri-Cities all her life and has even driven by the Oregon depot. "I just never paid attention," she said.

The students in Ron Okarma's biology classes just finished a unit on the fusion of molecules, and he thought students should learn about the chemical stockpiles in their own back yard.

"I thought it would be a good idea to talk about what our problems are and to find out a little more about what's around us," Okarma said.

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility will destroy about 12 percent of the Army's stockpile of chemical agents and weapons - about 3,700 tons. The incinerator was finished in August and is undergoing tests to make sure it's ready for use.

Shamara Hauff, 16, an 11th-grader, thought she had a better understanding of the cleanup process after the presentation.

"I think it's cool to know they're taking such good care of the chemicals," Hauff said. "I'm more worried about Afghanistan blowing up Hanford and dying. But it's cool to know they care about students knowing what's going on down there."

Umatilla officials plan to visit more Tri-City-area groups to explain the disposal process, said Chris Early, spokesman for the Washington Demilitarization Company.

"They need to know what's happening in their community and given the current environment, we're bringing the project to the people," Early said.

 

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