A chemical operations crew from the Umatilla Chemical Depot separate rocket motor and warhead sections on nine M55 rockets that were sent to an Army lab in Picatinny, N.J., for propellant sampling and analysis. Download High-Res Image

The Umatilla Chemical Depot (UMCD) was one of nine Army installations in the United States that stored chemical weapons. The chemical weapons originally stored at the depot consisted of various munitions and ton containers containing GB or VX nerve agents or HD blister agent. Stockpile disposal operations were successfully concluded in October 2011 using high-temperature incineration technology. This technology has been used by the Army for more than two decades, safely at several sites to successfully dispose of more than 80 percent of the nation’s original chemical weapons.

The Army worked in partnership with Oregon state and local government agencies, as well as federal agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to safeguard the local community and protect the environment as we stored and disposed of these chemical weapons. The Army safely stored approximately 12 percent of the nation's original chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot starting in 1962.

The UMCD opened in 1941. The depot's mission was to store and maintain a variety of military items, from blankets to ammunition. The depot’s mission, however, changed in 1962 to include the safe storage of chemical weapons. From 1990 to 1994 the facility reorganized in preparation for eventual closure, shipping all conventional ammunition and supplies to other installations.

The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (UMCDF) was designed for the sole purpose of destroying the chemical weapons stored at the UMCD. Facility construction was completed in 2001, and the Army began testing the facility. Weapons disposal took place from 2004-2011.