Pressure difficulties delay Army test burn

This story was published Thu, Jul 25, 2002

By The Associated Press

PORTLAND -- The Army said Wednesday that a minor technical problem will delay the first test burn at its Umatilla Chemical Depot chemical weapons incinerator by several days.

The test, which was scheduled for Wednesday, will likely happen early next week after the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality approves a permit modification, said Wayne Thomas, project manager for the state DEQ.

The Army stores nearly 4,000 tons of VX, sarin and mustard gas in concrete bunkers at the Umatilla Depot near Hermiston.

The chemical weapons are scheduled to be destroyed by 2008 under an international treaty. The Army plans to begin burning the weapons next May in a massive incinerator completed earlier this year.

Thomas said engineers discovered Wednesday morning that pressure levels at certain places in the incinerator exceeded those approved by the state in its original permit.

He said the higher pressure levels would not pose a risk to the public, but required a permit modification. Army and state officials are scheduled to meet today to discuss the new permit, which the agency expects to approve, Thomas said.

"We were hopeful that they would have started (the test burns) today," he said. "If it takes a few more days to get there, that's what it takes."

The Army will use nontoxic chemical solvents to double for the deadly nerve agents during the test burn, which will take 45 days.

The substances are designed to mimic the destruction of the deadly mustard, sarin and VX nerve gases that make up the 3,700 tons of chemical weapons stored there.

The test chemicals -- a dry cleaning solvent and a common degreasing agent -- will be destroyed at temperatures of up to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit.

If the Army can show that the incinerator destroys 99.9999 percent of the test chemicals, officials think they'll be ready to begin burning the chemical weapons by February.

Wednesday's delay wasn't the first setback at the chemical incinerator.

Problems with the facility's monitoring system earlier this year set back the incineration date for real agents by three months, from February 2003 to May 2003.

State officials gave the Army final approval to proceed with test burns on July 12, Thomas said.

 

Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.