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Oregon officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began this week removing recently discovered drums from the bottom of Lake Wallowa, marked as containing chemicals.
The US EPA Region 10 Twitter account tweeted about ongoing work on Thursday, indicating that officials were starting to test and remove the 12 100-gallon drums. The barrels are labeled as containing 2,4-D or 2,4,5-T, usually called Agent Orange, which was widely used during the Vietnam War and has been associated with a number of diseases, including the Cancer.
As cleanup begins, officials said the city's drinking water source was provisionally replaced by a reserve.
#Wallowa Lake update ** @EPAnorthwest w / @OregonDEQ plan to test and remove 12 100-gallon barrels labeled as herbicides. We use a remotely operated vehicle to control submerged drums before they can be removed safely. https://t.co/F0orlg2DPM pic.twitter.com/NwNxeN7q8A
– US EPA Region 10 (@EPAnorthwest) June 13, 2019
EPA, DEQ and environmental contractors are on site to coordinate with #Wallowa State Park, Wallowa County Sheriff and Joseph City performing reconnaissance operations on the drum sites. https://t.co/F0orlg2DPM
– US EPA Region 10 (@EPAnorthwest) June 13, 2019
As a precaution, the city of Joseph temporarily supplies drinking water in a relief well rather than in the lake during drumming surveys and removal activities. https://t.co/F0orlg2DPM
– US EPA Region 10 (@EPAnorthwest) June 13, 2019
According to an Oregon Live report, the guns were discovered by divers in August. An official said at the exit that the drums could be seated in water between 90 and 140 feet deep, which, combined with the cold temperatures in the lake, could complicate the process of obtaining barrels. .
EPA officials had planned to operate a remote vehicle on Friday to inspect the site and continue planning for the removal of barrels.
It is still unclear how the drums were installed in the lake and if they are filled with labeled chemicals.
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