INCINERATION OPPONENTS CALL OREGON CIRCUIT COURT RULING A "VICTORY"

[Grace M. Potorti <rama@accutek.com>]

for immediate release: Thursday, December 10, 1998

INCINERATION OPPONENTS CALL OREGON CIRCUIT COURT RULING A "VICTORY"

Judge Sends Critical Issues Back to DEQ/EQC Questioning Their Permit 
Decision; Orders Hearing on "New" Evidence on Nerve Gas Toxicity

A ruling handed down by Oregon Circuit Court Judge Michael H. Marcus
Tuesday is being called a "victory" by the Oregon organizations and
citizens who filed the legal action. Karyn Jones, a resident of Hermiston
and a board member of GASP, one of the organizations who filed the action,
said, "This decision reflects the validity of the issues we have raised and
will continue to raise. We plan to proceed with our efforts by all
appropriate means to ensure that Oregon, like Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland
and Indiana are given an equal opportunity to use the safest technology to
dispose of these weapons." She concluded, "Our resolve in this matter is
unwavering."

 In his decision, Judge Marcus ruled, among other things, that the Oregon
DEQ and EQC must hold hearings to reconsider critical components in their
decision to issue a permit to the Army to build and operate an incineration
complex at the Umatilla Army Depot to burn the chemical weapons stored
there. Specifically, the issue of the DEQ/EQC having relied on the
proposed carbon filter system to reduce emissions of toxic material,
including nerve agents was, according to Marcus, "critically ambiguous with
respect to the extent to which respondents relied on operable carbon
filters." On this issue, Judge Marcus also wrote, "Respondents [DEQ/EQC]
point to nothing in the record to support their conclusions concerning PAS
[carbon filters] other than written and oral remarks..."

Richard Condit, one of the attorneys for the petitioners, said, "The
court's decision clearly questions the capability of the carbon filters to
work at all, an assumption the DEQ/EQC depended on in their decision to
permit these incinerators. Consequently the DEQ/ EQC should consider
options to incineration that don't emit toxins to ensure adequate
protection of public health and the environment."

Another issue which the petitioners consider a significant "win" is the
Judge directing the DEQ/EQC to hear "new" evidence which the petitioners
say was "suppressed" during the permit hearings. Specifically, the
petitioners alleged that the Army had information in their possession, at
the time of the hearings, which showed that exposure to nerve agents that
will be emitted from the incinerator stack are much more lethal, at
significantly lower levels, than what they represented to the DEQC.
According to petitioners, this information should have been provided by the
Army - at that time - and considered by the DEQ/EQC. Such toxicity
information, according to petitioners, casts serious doubt on the safe
exposure standards proposed for workers and the general downwind
population. Furthermore, these underestimated exposure levels impact the
capability of the monitoring systems proposed for the facility and have
huge implications on the emergency preparedness plans for the surrounding
communities. The Judge ruled that this "new" information must be considered
by the DEQ/EQC and that any misrepresentations of relevant facts are
violations of the permit. Petitioners plan to bring this information
before the DEQ/EQC for their consideration.

Dr. Bob Palzer, of the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, an organization
also a petitioner in the suit said, "The Judge is absolutely correct on
this point. We know the Army had information as far back as 1994 showing
that the agents they want to burn in Umatilla are much more lethal than the
toxicological data they provided to the Oregon agency. Withholding this
information is, in our view, not only deceitful and dishonest, and could be
illegal." Dr. Palzer, Chairman of the Air Quality Committee added, "The
Sierra Club is committed to seeing these weapons destroyed as expeditiously
and safely as possible."

Stu Sugarman, another attorney for the petitioners said, "We are pleased
the Judge ordered the State of Oregon to hold hearings concerning the
carbon filters and this "new" information."

Other issues, on which the Judge sided with DEQ/EQC, can be appealed to a
higher Court and are currently being reviewed and analyzed by the
petitioners and their attorneys. "We believe certain aspects of the ruling
may appealed," said Sugarman. "We are discussing our options on what to do
next. Sugarman concluded, "This is a significant step towards ensuring
that Oregon will deploy safe and protective alternative disposal
technologies to destroy these weapons."
-30-

Craig Williams, Director
Chemical Weapons Working Group
P.O. Box 467 Berea, Ky. 40403
kefwilli@acs.eku.edu
(606) 986-7565 (P)
(606) 986- 2695 (F)
www.cwwg.org