[CPEO-MEF] CHEMWEAPONS, REUSE: Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot (OR)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Drotzmann: Enough delay, let’s develop former chemical depot

By David Drotzmann,Mayor of Hermiston
East Oregonian
February 16, 2018 


The city of Hermiston, by default, has been the beneficiary of the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot while having to manage the risk to public health and safety. Fortunately, that time has come and gone. Now it is time to return the property to the region and allow the community to re-purpose the property.

In 1941, the U.S. Department of War commissioned the establishment of Umatilla Ordnance Depot in preparation for World War II, on 20,000 acres in a seemingly barren area of ground near a railroad in northeast Oregon. The total population around the site in 1940 was approximately 2,000. Today, that number is closer to 44,000.

Initially, conventional munitions and supplies were stored on the depot in 1,001 igloos, until 1962 when the Army decided to store chemical weapons there and changed its name to Umatilla Army Depot and then finally the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot.


…

For the entire column, see
http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/columnists/20180216/drotzmann-enough-delay-lets-develop-former-chemical-depot

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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