Depot monitors fail to detect deadly VX

This story was published Fri, Oct 18, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON -- The monitors placed around the fence at the Umatilla Chemical Depot fail in two respects.

They can't immediately alert the community to potential danger, and they can't readily identify the presence of VX, the most deadly form of chemical agent. Yet, Army officials told the citizens advisory commission Thursday that the monitors were never meant to be an alert system. Still, it was the first time many area officials had heard of the monitors' shortcomings.

The Army has other ways to pinpoint if chemicals are leaking from the depot. However, none of the Army's monitors detects the presence of VX very well, said Lt. Col. Fred Pellissier, depot commander.

"The technology isn't where we'd like it to be," he said. VX doesn't vaporize unless heated. It's heavy like baby oil but deadly. A drop of VX can kill a person.

"It's not lethal unless you come into contact with it," Pellissier said.

A cup of VX could be placed two feet from a monitor designed to identify the presence of chemical agent and no alarms would go off.

In a recent government publication, Delbert Bunch, deputy program manager for the nation's chemical demilitarization program, said the inability of the monitors to pick up the presence of VX was a problem for all the nation's chemical weapons stockpiles. He said he is not satisfied the Army has developed all the necessary monitoring methods it needs for VX.

Bunch said there continue to be questions.

Darrel Johnston, lab manager for the Umatilla Chemical Depot who oversees the monitors that surround the depot, told the citizens advisory commission that the monitors, which take over 60,000 air samples a day, sometimes get false readings. The monitors do sound an alarm, but it takes from 12 to 48 hours, he said. Their job is primarily record-keeping. However, Johnston said there has been a rash of false readings over the past six months. He said he wasn't sure what was causing them, but he discounted crop-dusting, which was brought up by commission members. Johnston also said the monitors at Umatilla have failed to identify agent even when it is known to be present. Even with the limited technology, depot Commander Pellissier said outside of a catastrophic event it's unlikely there would be any leaks of VX or other chemical agent.

 

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