The Associated Press May 26, 2003
Unexploded ammunition may pose threat at Middletown plant
Officials are examining the threat posed by unexploded munitions at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant.
Decades of munitions manufacturing at the southeast Iowa plant left unknown amounts of unexploded ordnance, including countless tiny detonators which were scattered in accidental explosions. Officials say this UXO, as the unexploded ordnance is called, represents a hazard to workers and visitors at the plant.
Representatives of MKM Engineers Inc. presented a preliminary assessment of the threat last week at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant's Restoration Advisory Board meeting in Burlington.
The Stafford, Texas-based company contracts with the federal government to remove UXO from government sites.
An October inspection revealed enough UXO to warrant a closer look. It focused on three areas of the plant: the central test area, the deactivation area and the furnace.
"This stuff is designed to kill people ... and it still works," MKM ordnance disposal expert Mark Vess said of the munitions scattered at plants across the nation.
Since the end of World War II, 65 civilians have been killed and 135 have lost limbs at uncleared UXO sites.
In the pending inspection, Vess and his team will determine whether the UXO at the three designated sites can be marked, fenced and left in place, or if it must be removed.
If it has to be removed, the plan would have to be approved by federal regulators before work could begin. That could take up to a year, said Rodger Allison, plant environmental project director.
The detonator manufacturing area presents a particular challenge because of the size of the detonators, Vess said.
"It's kind of like finding a needle in a haystack and you have to come up with some innovative ways to deal with it," he said.
The plant is the only manufacturer of tank ammunition for the Army and Marines. It also makes artillery shells and warheads. More than 1,000 people work at the plant, which is operated by government contractor American Ordnance.
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Iowa Army Ammunition Plant: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/aap-iowa.htm
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
