UMCDF ramps up destruction of chemical agent

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) has increased the destruction of chemical mustard agent from a 50 percent processing rate to 75 percent, effective today

“Our plant has received the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality approval for this increase and has made the required steps to safely ramp up the destruction of the remaining chemical mustard agent stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot,” said Gary Anderson, U.S. Army site project manager at the UMCDF.

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Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility weekly project update - September 23, 2010

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) submitted a Class 2 permit modification request (PMR) to the Oregon Department of Enviromental Quality (DEQ) this week to revise Attachment 9 (Metals Feed Characterization, Spiking, and Extrapolation) of the UMCDF HD (mustard) Agent Trial Burn/Comprehensive Performance Test Plan. The proposed changes reflect a request to establish appropriate HD metal feed rate limits, following completion of the trial burn, utilizing spiked metals representative of the metal volatility classes.

A public information meeting on this PMR will be held at 6 p.m. on October 13, 2010 at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston.

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Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility weekly project update - September 16, 2010

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) Tuesday submitted a Temporary Authorization Request (TAR) to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to construct, install and test the Rinsate Feed Collection System (RCS). The TAR does not request approval to process HD rinsate through the system before receiving approval.

The removal of the solid or semi-solid material, referred to as “heel” in HD ton containers (TCs), has presented challenges throughout the chemical weapons demilitarization program. The UMCDF currently sprays the inside of donor TCs containing heel with high-pressure hot water to partially mobilize the heel and transfer the resulting mixture (heel/water), referred to as HD rinsate, to a recipient TC. Currently, TCs of HD rinsate are treated in the Metal Parts Furnace (MPF), roughly doubling the amount of waste that must be processed in the MPF. The proposed RCS would provide an additional method of treatment for the HD rinsate by treating the liquid fraction in the Liquid Incinerators (LICs).

Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility weekly update - September 9

On Friday, Sept. 3, a Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) maintenance worker donned a Demilitarization Protective Ensemble (DPE) suit and entered a toxic area of the plant to continue removal of obsolete machinery. But for entrant Mike Morehead, the entry was more than just another routine task accomplished in the course of a day.

The entry marked the 200th for Morehead, the first UMCDF worker to reach that number. What’s more remarkable is that he has never had a “hot cutout,” meaning he’s never come out of an entry with agent monitor readings above zero. He attributes this to impeccable decontamination practices. He has never been injured or become ill during an entry.

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Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility weekly project update - September 2, 2010

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility’s (UMCDF’s) proposed Rinsate Collection System (RCS) – which is designed to collect rinsate created during heel transfer operations and feed it directly to the Liquid Incinerators (LICs) – is another example of cooperation among the chemical demilitarization sites operated by URS.

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