Officials strive for safety of depot's neighbor cities

This story was published Sun, Feb 2, 2003

By Karen Spears Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

UMATILLA -- Despite the Army's assertion that low doses of chemical weapons don't pose a public threat, Oregon health officials are taking extra steps to ensure the safety of the communities bordering the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

"We don't want anyone in Oregon exposed to any chemical agent," said Byran Hopkins, emergency manager for the depot project for the Oregon Department of Health and Human Services.

The Army says it is unlikely a chemical weapons plume would leave the post without a major accidental explosion of some sort at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, 35 miles south of the Tri-Cities.

Dr. Michael Holcomb, the state's toxicologist, said the Army's general position is to say, "Why worry if people are exposed to a little nerve agent?"

But recent news accounts suggesting that Gulf War veterans are struggling with ongoing health issues, possibly because of low-level exposures to sarin gas, only underscores the concern that any exposure to chemical weapons is bad, Holcomb said.

"Low-level exposure to nerve agent can cause chronic health problems," he said.

About 3,717 tons of chemical weapons are stored at Umatilla -- in rockets, projectiles, spray tanks, cartridges, bombs, mines and bulk containers filled with lethal agents like VX, sarin, which is also known as GB, and blister agent, commonly called mustard gas.

Holcomb said the Army sets its exposure standards for soldiers, not for civilians. He said the Army's standards are different because soldiers have to live and function under battle conditions.

"But we as citizens don't have to do that. We have a choice," he said.

Meanwhile, health officials in Washington have not yet determined how they will apply exposure guidelines should an explosion send a chemical weapon plume skyward. They are seeking an analysis from an independent contractor that specializes in emergency preparedness before deciding when to notify communities of a threat.

Oregon health officials have an agreement with Army officials at Umatilla that the communities will be notified every time there is a release of nerve agent, no matter how insignificant the Army may consider the risk to the public.

"This is a case of a federal standard vs. a state standard, and in this case, Oregon is going to be more stringent," Hopkins said.

Guidelines developed by the Environmental Protection Agency assign a rating to chemical exposures, known as Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, or AEGLs.

AEGLs have three levels. The least severe is AEGL I. A release of VX of this magnitude could cause general irritation, headaches, maybe some confusion and discomfort.

An AEGL II exposure could cause some long-term health problems and for some people could cause irreversible health effects, perhaps death.

An AEGL III exposure is considered deadly.

The Army's position is that communities exposed to an AEGL I do not need to be notified, nor do they need to shelter in place by using duct tape and plastic to seal off a room in the house, or to evacuate.

The Army compares an AEGL I exposure to a whiff of gasoline. But Oregon health officials aren't buying the Army's definition.

"We've never agreed on this issue. We've always maintained that an AEGL I has toxic effects," Hopkins said.

A plume of AEGL I level likely would affect the most people because it would travel farther than an AEGL III plume, Holcomb said.

The Army issued a recommendation that communities only need be notified when the plume reaches the severity of an AEGL II. But the decision of when and if to notify nearby communities is up to emergency planners in each state.

"We are going to notify our communities to shelter in place or to evacuate for an AEGL I. We're doing this because we care about our citizens," Hopkins said.

 

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