False Alarm At Chemical Depot Shakes Citizens

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False Alarm At Chemical Depot Shakes Citizens

09:15PST - Hermiston, OR -- 9-1-1 phone lines were reportedly overloaded for about an hour this morning as concerned citizens called to check on an alert issued by the Morrow County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The alert, which appeared on electronic highway signs and was broadcast on speakers, indicated that the nearby Umatilla Chemical Depot had an on-going leak of toxic chemicals. The incident happened at about 09:15PST. Upon investigation, it later turned out that an EOC employee may have mistakenly activated the alarm. Hermiston Mayor Frank Harkenrider said he was "upset" about the mistake and that a number of citizens were shaken by the alarm. Everything is reportedly returning to normal now as information is disseminated to assure citizens that there is NO emergency.

-- Carl (Itaintover@tilits.over), January 01, 2000

Answers

http://www.koin.com/news/stories/news-20000102-024643.html

Poison Gas Leaks In Umatilla Under Control

Trace Amounts Not A Danger To Umatilla Residents

UMATILLA, Ore., Posted 6:46 p.m. PST January 1, 2000 -- Small amounts of deadly sarin gas have been found at the Umatilla chemical depot in eastern Oregon, but there's no danger to people or the environment, a depot spokesman tells KOIN 6 News.

The trace amounts of the nerve gas were found Saturday during a routine check of a storage igloo that houses chemical weapons.

The structure contains weapons that are so-called "repeat" leakers, or ones that have leaked before. Monday, a crew will go into the structure to determine which weapon is leaking. It will then be isolated and placed in a larger, more secure container, reports KOIN.

Thousands of chemical weapons are stored at the U.S. Army munitions facility, and sarin is just one of the many agents and gases. Sarin is so toxic that one drop can be fatal.

Destruction of the weapons is due to begin next year, when construction on a large incinerator is complete.
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2nd or 3nd alarm in 2 days over there ... one on Friday got officials upset because big road signs were completely ignored by drivers who kept going right toward possible disaster ...

-- holding breath (shelter@in.place), January 01, 2000.


Wow. Oh my............

-- Sheila (Sheilamars@aol.com), January 01, 2000.

Carl,

I didn't realize that we stored sarin on the Mainland. Johnson Atoll is the main storage area for Chemical weapons...did I miss something??



-- K. Stevens (kstevens@ It apparantly didn't go away 20 Hours ago.com), January 01, 2000.


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