2006 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
Date: 10 Mar 2006 09:34:16 -0000
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] Violations at Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (OR)
 
News Release
March 8, 2006
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

DEQ Issues Penalties Totaling $8,800 for Hazardous Waste Permit Violations at Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued penalties totaling $8,800 to the Washington Demilitarization Company for two hazardous waste permit violations that occurred last August and September at the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Hermiston.

Washington Demilitarizaton Co. and the U.S. Army operate the facility, which is responsible for incinerating chemical weapons stockpiled nearby at the Army’s Umatilla Chemical Depot. The facility, which is a large-quantity generator of hazardous waste, operates under a Hazardous Waste Storage and Treatment Facility permit issued by DEQ.

In September 2005, facility officials self-reported two separate incidents that resulted in permit violations. The specific violations were verified in an Oct. 6, 2005 DEQ investigation.

DEQ assessed Washington Demilitarization Co. a $4,200 penalty for processing hazardous waste at the facility without properly monitoring its Brine Reduction Area stack emissions for more than 14 hours on Aug. 22, 2005. The monitoring failure occurred when a technician did not reconnect a sampling line following calibration of a chemical agent monitor.

In a separate violation, DEQ issued a $4,600 penalty to Washington Demilitarization Co. for turning off its automatic air monitoring system without having a backup monitoring system in operation, for about 16 minutes on Sept. 1, 2005. As a result, during the shut-off period, there was no chemical agent monitoring of ventilation exhuast from the facility’s Munition Demilitarization Building. The facility’s hazardous waste permit specifies that the chemcial agent monitoring systems are only to be off-line for calibration or routine maintenance, provided that the alternative chemical agent monitors (either the on-line filter monitor or the stack monitor) are monitoring the ventilation exhaust.

Washington Demilitarization Co. submitted documents to DEQ which indicate there was no chemical agent release during either incident. However, monitoring of emissions at the facility is necessary to ensure that safety standards are being met and that there is adequate treatment and monitoring of waste processed there.

DEQ issued the penalties to Washington Demilitarization Co. on March 3. The company has until March 23 to appeal the penalties.

For the original news release, go to
http://www.deq.state.or.us/news/prDisplay.asp?docID=2055

--


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


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