VX vapor detected at depot Wednesday

This story was published Fri, Aug 20, 2004

By the Herald staff

UMATILLA -- A chemical operations crew detected a trace amount of VX chemical agent vapor Wednesday inside a storage structure at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

The crew found the trace amount during a routine daily air monitoring of a structure known as an "igloo," which has a passive filter system that prevents vapors from escaping to the outside atmosphere.

Many weapons in the igloo have been there 20 years, so it is not uncommon to get very low-level vapor readings, said spokeswoman Mary Binder.

Employees plan to take additional readings today.

 

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