HERMISTON, Ore. (AP) — Oregon regulators have approved an increase in the rate of disposal for the aging stockpile of chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.
The East Oregonian reports the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality authorized an increase in the destruction of chemical mustard agent from a 75 percent processing rate to 100 percent.
Officials said the faster rate should allow the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility to destroy the remaining 1,200 tons of chemical agent within a year.
Workers at the demilitarization plant began destroying mustard agent in June 2009. The depot had a stockpile of 2,339 tons of mustard agent.
