New EPA guidelines could alter Umatilla depot evacuation plans

This story was published Fri, Dec 20, 2002

By Karen Spears Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

HERMISTON -- Changes in the Environmental Protection Agency's definitions for chemical exposure are causing Benton County emergency planners and Washington health officials to revisit plans they've adopted in case of an emergency at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

They aren't anticipating any significant alterations for Washington residents. But Benton County officials said at a meeting Thursday there likely will be adjustments made to accommodate the potential evacuation of thousands of people from Oregon.

"We have to go back and make sure our plans are valid," said Rick Garza, manager for Benton County Emergency Management. "This (new method of defining exposure limits) affects every chemical, not just chemical warfare. It affects exposures across the board, including chemicals like chlorine and ammonia."

In the past, EPA relied on dosages to determine risk. It has replaced that with a model called Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, or AEGLs. Garza said the risk model is based on the concentration of the chemical, how long a person's exposed and any susceptibilities they already may have.

For instance, do they have asthma or other respiratory ailments? Is it a man affected or an infant boy? The EPA has given a numerical rating to the AEGLs, with AEGL-3 representing the most serious.

Emergency planners are trying to develop plans around the new guidelines, but that's not been as easy thing to do, said Milo Straus, Washington's public health advisor for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program.

"It's not just a simple decision. I wish it were," Straus said.

Under new EPA guidelines, the nerve agent VX was determined to be far more toxic than originally thought. In a catastrophic event, the VX stored at the depot could create an AEGL-1 plume that under certain wind conditions could travel as far north as the Tri-Cities.

But would it really harm anyone?

That's the question the Army and EPA are continuing to debate, Garza said. At a recent emergency planners conference in Louisiana, Army officials claimed there would be no reason to notify local communities for an AEGL-1 plume because the effects would be minuscule.

"Some say it's equal to pumping your own gas or changing out a propane tank," Garza said. "But there are no firm definitions. That's what they are trying to work out."

Last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., accused the Army of trying to play down the effects of VX. He sent a letter on Dec. 12 to retired Maj. Gen. Claude Bolton, who is expected to take leadership of the nation's chemical stockpile. In his letter, Shelby wrote that the Army was attempting to "reject the EPA's AEGLs by replacing them with their own AEGL definitions and toxicity thresholds. The Army is attempting to claim that an AEGL-1 exposure involves no symptoms.

"This newly defined AEGL-1 could easily become a 'black hole' which could be abused by the Army in an effort to gloss over a chemical event."

The Army is putting pressure on the EPA to redefine the AEGLs for VX, said Dr. Michael Holcomb, environmental toxicologist for the Oregon Department of Human Services. Holcomb was at the Louisiana meeting.

By changing the standard, the perception is "that you can be exposed to these agents and not suffer any significant consequences," Holcomb said.

And it might change the protective action plans for communities, and, possibly, who's going to pay for such protective actions.

That's not going to be a problem in Oregon and Washington.

"It's a complicated issue with concerns about health as well as concerns about costs. But in Oregon and Washington, we will have a plan in place to protect our citizens," Holcomb said.

Both states have an agreement with the Umatilla depot that they will be notified of any release of chemical agent off the depot grounds, no matter how minor.

"We just want the Army to notify us," Straus said. "Then, we're going to do what we feel needs to be done to protect our citizens."

Straus said it isn't clear yet if Washington will need to revise its emergency response plan.

"We'll have to look at the information and decide whether we should keep the same plan or change it," he said.

Oregon's emergency planners already have developed their response plan.

Such planning is the prudent course to take.

"VX is some of the deadliest stuff ever been known to mankind. It's not something to toy with. What if the Army's assumptions turn out to be wrong?" asked Casey Beard, Morrow County emergency manager. "We are going take the safest route. That way we're ahead of the game."

 

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