WMD disposal

[HenryJ]

...I live near a base that houses cold war WMD that the military wants to destroy but, legislation, nearby residents AND other states are preventing their destruction by either not building an incinerator here or transporting it to existing ones through their states. Almost everyday another leak is found and yet 20 years later it is still sitting here...

I have a carbon copy situation not far from here. A chemical weapons storage site. The rocket fuels have degraded to the point that auto ignition is imminent. The fuels can not be separated from the chemical payload. The plan was to incinerate them. A furnace was erected for disposal and "someone" saw emissions , so it was shut down.
Things have bee really quiet as of late. As far as I know nothing is happening.

Are we getting the "real story"? I know there is not adequate PPE available and I have heard nothing of an available stock of medical countermeasures.

All things naturally stabilize. My problem with that is that, I live...down wind and down hill.

[F9K9]

In our situation the funding was not in this year's budget but, the local US representatives got it reinstated but, I was seen no real schedules to do anything.

I almost hate to bring this up after the UAE thing with the ports but, the same middle east owned company that I work for guarding US judges is guarding our local WMD storage base AND Fort Knox.

[kauaibuilt47]

I have a carbon copy situation not far from here. A chemical weapons storage site. The rocket fuels have degraded to the point that auto ignition is imminent. The fuels can not be separated from the chemical payload. The plan was to incinerate them. A furnace was erected for disposal and "someone" saw emissions , so it was shut down.
Things have bee really quiet as of late. As far as I know nothing is happening.


All things naturally stabilize. My problem with that is that, I live...down wind and down hill.

Ahhhh, Umatilla. Yup, never visited but thats what I trained for.

If it makes you feel any better, normal clothes provide pretty good protection from chemicals (unless theyre SOAKED in them).

"The solution to pollution is dilution." In the event of an actual emergency they would set-up 2 fire trucks facing each other and have you walk through the spray to "decon".

[HenryJ]

...Umatilla. Yup, never visited but thats what I trained for.

If it makes you feel any better, normal clothes provide pretty good protection from chemicals (unless theyre SOAKED in them)...

I hope there is a speedy resolution to your current assignment so that you can return to domestic issues and use the training you received. Any one comfortable dealing with VX in "normal clothes", has a job to do northwest of me

[kauaibuilt47]

Normal clothes in terms of small quantities of accidentally released stuff. I dont know how much of the info down there is public knowledge so I just gave VERY generalized info.

The problem with the chemical detectors we have right now is that they're super sensitive, strong odors (to include raid, perfume, etc) can set them off. And each time they go off they have to stop and search out the cause.

As for VX, a little atropine never hurt anyone. Of course its been said that the auto injector has a rather large, spring loaded needle though. A minor release will be diluted out by the wind and distance it has to travel. Airborne exposure isn't nearly as bad as getting that stuff on you, in which case clothes will at least form some barrier between the chemicals and you (its in vapor form and a thick clothing SHOULDNT let that stuff pass through. For direct exposure (as in you get bombed with the stuff) as long as your shirt isnt soaked you would get some inhalation and eye exposure because of the volatility of the chemical (it basically evaporates really quickly). You got some time to decon yourself with our handy-dandy decon kits since the average BDU provides a little barrier between the chemical and your skin.

When you take into account weather conditions, amount of chemicals release, distance to town, etc.....There are a lot of variables out there. Not saying Id like an incinerator/stockpile in MY backyard, but at least that would provide some comfort knowing you have well trained people and that you aren't IN Umatilla.

I didnt mean that I would deal with it up close and personal with normal clothes if I had the option.

[HenryJ]

Knowledge is power. Specialists can deal with a hazard using a minimum level of protection. We would be required by OSHA to use a higher level of PPE.

I know you would not use "normal clothes" dealing with this stuff. Your comfort level indicates your knowledge of the material though.

I have seen the soda straw those "apy" auto injectors use...NO THANKS! We don't carry any auto injectors anymore. Too expensive to replace. If we had a higher level of "need" it might be a different story.

Any chance of your joining a CST? The next phase will add quite a few personnel.

[kauaibuilt47]

I actually got to visit 10th CST at Camp Murray. Good stuff. Learned a lot and am EXTREMELY jealous of their funding and equipment.

I was part of the DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team). Actually, I was pushing for our deployment during the Katrina response. Never got to go though.

I went through United States Army Reasearch Institute of Infectious Disease and the one for Chemical Defense. 1 wk course that taught us all about that stuff.

Where do you work that you need to use OSHA PPE and carry auto injectors? 16 gauge needle for that autoinjector....Ive heard of guys putting their thumbs at the end, stabbing themselves in the leg with the wrong end, and having the needle go through their thumb. Supposedly it'll hit hard enough to take the bone out.

[HenryJ]

Oregon State Reigonal Hazardous Material Emergency Response Team 14.

I started my Hazmat training in 1991. We are the ones who would be availble to assist , should there be an incident.

Also an EMT-B , that is where the auto injectors come into play.
If they ever let you come work in Oregon, we will have to schedule a joint drill

[kauaibuilt47]

Oregon State Reigonal Hazardous Material Emergency Response Team 14.

I started my Hazmat training in 1991. We are the ones who would be availble to assist , should there be an incident.

Also an EMT-B , that is where the auto injectors come into play.
If they ever let you come work in Oregon, we will have to schedule a joint drill

When I get back to MAMC Ill have to see whether or not I get back on the team. if so I will definitely see what can be arranged.

Howd you land a job doing HAZMAT stuff? Im looking for a career change out of nursing (got 2 more years left before I can think about that though). Looking into Firefighter/Paramedic or a Chopper pilot (Army). CST would be cool but those guys are on call 24/7 and their leaves/holidays are really restricted.

[HenryJ]

...Howd you land a job doing HAZMAT stuff?

Believe it or not, I answered an ad in the newspaper. I was a licensed UST decommission and soil matrix clean-up supervisor. My experience dealing with fuels and chemicals was seen as an asset and my application accepted.
I was then trained by the state for a year to technician level. Following that a two weeks in "Tually land" to attain specialist level. Later the specialist level was deleted as it was not a proper use of the title. Specialists are now what we call the industry experts.
The technician level is now just the 160 hours training, but you must already have the basic fire school, flammable liquids, flammable gasses, and EVOC.

The "on call 24/7" thing is not so bad. Don't give up the nursing though. You can pretty much go anywhere. There is a high demand for nurses. Some fire background would be a good choice too. Add that and you will have the skills needed to follow your dreams.