Tests at depot delayed until at least November

This story was published Fri, Oct 11, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

UMATILLA -- Persisting problems have shut down tests at the $567 million incinerator designed to burn thousands of tons of chemical weapons stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Environmental regulators said Thursday that test burns likely will not resume before November. The testing was originally scheduled to be completed by mid-July.

The Army intended to start destroying the thousands of tons of VX, sarin and mustard agent stored at the depot in February. Now, no one is sure when the destruction will begin.

A recent Army inspection of the facility built to burn the weapons has revealed a series of minor problems, including cracks in the refractory bricks in the furnace, broken seals, cracked pipes and some areas that need recaulking.

Wayne Thomas said Army inspectors are "crawling into units and taking them apart" in an effort to identify why dangerous metals, such as lead and chromium, seeped into the furnace's exhaust stack during recent tests. Thomas is the project manager for Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

"What we do know is that it's not anything in the treatment of the hazardous waste that is causing the deterioration in the system," Thomas said.

The hazardous wastes Thomas referred to are the industrial solvents used to test the capabilities of the furnaces. The Army adds or "spikes" heavy metals -- known-carcinogens such as chromium -- to the solvents in order to mimic the sort of material that the nerve agents create during actual weapon burns.

Thomas said the testing phase is somewhat akin to being a car engineer.

"You have to look at all the parts -- the fuel injection system, the carburetor, the engine -- and make sure they are all made right and doing what they are supposed to be doing. So that when you measure what comes out the tailpipe, it's what you want," he explained.

So far, what's coming out the tailpipe is troubling. During a mini-test burn on Aug. 18, five heavy metals -- arsenic, chromium, lead, nickel and antiomny -- exceeded the allowable emission rates.

During a second burn a month later, chromium and lead continued to exceed those limits, the chromium by twice the regulatory standard.

Upgrade of a large industrial facility is a constant challenge, Mary Binder said. Binder is tspokeswoman for the Umatilla depot. "Some of that equipment has been in place for quite a while. Some nuts, bolts and seals need to be upgraded," Binder said .

Army officials are uncertain as to why the furnace, known as the LIC-1, is not functioning properly, Binder said.

"We are looking at anything and everything for causes," Binder said.

 

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