6/19/2008, 5:01 a.m. PDT
The Associated Press

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- A report assessing the risks associated with incinerating deadly poisonous gases left over from the Cold War at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Eastern Oregon will be taken up by the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission.

The panel is meeting Thursday in Medford.

A key issue is whether the incinerator being used to destroy the aging chemical weapons is the best available technology, as required by Oregon Law.

A watchdog group, The Government Accountability Project, contends that the incinerator releases chemicals into the air that pose a significant risk to human health, and wants the Army to switch to a chemical neutralization process, which is used elsewhere.