Late last week, a worker at the Umatilla Chemical Depot was apparently exposed to mustard agent, causing a blister. It is believed to be the first time that a worker at the plant, against which GAP has been involved in numerous lawsuits, has been exposed to the dangerous chemical agent. (Seattle Times story)

While GAP has not focused on worker safety concerns at the Depot, we do have a history of fighting against the Army and Oregon agencies running the plant, who have decided to utilize the controversial method of incineration to destroy the mustard agent. GAP’s position is that this method of agent destruction is clearly not the “best available technology” for doing so (as state law requires). Rather, a water neutralization method has been used at other chemical depots around the country to glowing praise. This neutralization method would truly minimize any risk of outside contamination – whereas GAP believes the incineration method would release dangerous levels of mercury into the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the Army is proceeding with the incineration method and the Depot is getting ready to run the “trial burn,” which would determine how fast they can incinerate the agent. GAP continues to monitor the situation.

by Karen Hutchinson-Talaski

The attorney for GASP, an environmental group who has filed several legal challenges to the chemical weapons destruction at the Umatilla Chemical Depot, is considering an appeal of Judge Michael Marcus' ruling against the group.

By Annette Cary

An Oregon judge has sided with the state of Oregon and the Army, ending a lawsuit by activists who challenged whether incineration was the best way to destroy mustard agent at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

By Matthew Preusch

An unidentified worker inspects missiles containing sarin gas in a bunker at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Hermiston in this undated file photo. A judge recently rejected a suit to stop the incineration of mustard agent at the site.The U.S. military can continue to dispose of chemical weapons stockpiled in eastern Oregon, a Portland judge has ruled.

By Northwest Public Radio

The Umatilla Chemical Depot got the go ahead today from an Oregon’s Circuit Court judge to incinerate thousands of tons of mustard agent. But as Richland Correspondent Anna King reports, the chemical weapons incinerators won’t fire up immediately.

A watchdog group called the Government Accountability Project wants the U.S. Army to stop incinerating mustard agent. Lawyer Richard Condit claims mercury and other toxic chemicals might be released from the plant in northeast Oregon.

On Friday, June 12, GAP argued in court against the burning of mustard agent at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon. The burning could elevate the risk of cancer in humans, especially children and adolescents whose immune systems are more vulnerable to dangerous chemicals. Unfortunately, the issue was not resolved and the burning will continue until the hearing resumes.

 

On Friday, June 12, GAP argued in court against the burning of mustard agent at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon. The burning could elevate the risk of cancer in humans, especially children and adolescents whose immune systems are more vulnerable to dangerous chemicals. Unfortunately, the issue was not resolved and the burning will continue until the hearing resumes.

 

Written by GAP Senior Counsel, Richard Condit. Versions of this op-ed also appeared in the East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) are responsible for overseeing the disposal of chemical warfare agents stored at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot, including 2,200 tons of mustard agent.

Prior to 2007, the plan was to simply incinerate the waste, a practice defended because it is a quick fix. In theory, dangerous byproducts of the incineration process (lead, dioxin, PCBs) would not be emitted in harmful quantities because of the purported maturity of the incineration technology and the addition of filtration systems.

There's a big problem. The mustard agent contains a significant amount of mercury — which incineration can't destroy and filters won't completely capture. If the plan to incinerate proceeds, which the DEQ and EQC want, it is a certainty that mercury will be released into surrounding communities and the environment, including the Columbia River.