Mustard agent moved to more secure site from run-down shed

This story was published Wed, May 1, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON -- Army officials confirmed Tuesday that they have safely moved 4 million pounds of mustard agent from a dilapidated storage shed at the Umatilla Chemical Depot to more secure bunkers.

The mustard agent, which makes up 63 percent of all the chemical weapons at the site, was stored in a shed in the highly secured K block area. The igloos where the mustard agent now is being stored are not in the K block perimeter.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality officials urged the Army to find better protection for the 2,635 containers of mustard agent after an inspection of the shed last year.

Wayne Thomas, the agency's administrator for the Chemical Demilitarization Program, said previously that the agency "probably should have" required upgrades to the shed years ago.

The risk of a possible sabotage or accident by a plane hitting the mustard storage shed long had been considered a possibility.

But the agency discovered holes in the roof, gaps in corners and in the area where the building adjoins the cement slab floor.

Thomas said environmental officials were aware of the move and approved of the change.

Army spokesman Jim Hackett said a chemical crew team from Tooele, Utah, was flown in to assist with moving the mustard. National Guardsmen stationed at the depot provided extra security but did not move the agent, he said.

Hackett said Gov. John Kitzhaber and public officials were notified in March that the agent was being moved.

The impetus for moving the agent was to capitalize on colder temperatures, Hackett said. Mustard agent gels at 58 degrees or lower.

"Rising temperature was the greatest risk to the workers," he said.

But the agent was moved without a hitch. Hackett said workers used forklifts and trucks to safely transport the 1-ton containers to bunkers from 50 yards to a mile away from the shed.

"This is a very significant and historical event for us. The agent had been stored in the shed since 1978. We moved the munitions without any leaks, without any incidents. We moved it very successfully," Hackett said.

 

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