[CPEO-MEF] Judge orders review of Umatilla (OR) chem weapons incineration

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Judge orders review of weapons incineration
Chemicals - An environmental plaintiff sees a solid win in the Umatilla
depot case

ANDY DWORKIN
The Oregonian
April 18, 2007

After a 10-year court battle, a judge on Tuesday told Oregon's
Department of Environmental Quality it must reassess whether a chemical
weapons incinerator is good enough and safe enough to destroy 2,300 tons
of mustard gas stored at Umatilla Chemical Depot.

Circuit Judge Michael H. Marcus did not halt ongoing incineration of
nerve agent at the plant near Hermiston. But he said that the DEQ needs
to consider changes in the plant's design and operations made since the
incinerator was approved in 1997 before it starts processing mustard
gas, a blister agent. That's key because tests have shown U.S. mustard
gas to be contaminated with mercury at higher levels than previously
thought.

"I don't think under this ruling they could start the mustard
processing," said Mick Harrison, an Indiana lawyer who worked on the
case for environmental groups including GASP, an Oregon group opposed to
incineration. "It's a substantial victory."

Harrison and Portland lawyer Stuart Sugarman said that it would be safer
to treat the mustard gas with a water neutralization process. That
creates liquid waste to be disposed of, but it would not incinerate the
mercury.

...

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1176863134187920.xml&coll=7#continue

--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org




_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@list.cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/military