Realities of living around an old artillery range (Clarksville, Franklin: new home, construction)

[yarddawg]

From the local paper. Any spelling or grammar errors not mine. Posted in its entirety as the, um, "creative" use of php on the website makes direct links iffy. The discovery of live ammo, including artillery shells up to 300lbs., has been a known issue here for awhile but is an increasing problem as the new subdivisions are encroaching into the range area.


Cheryl M. Riordan, CSP Program Safety Manager, USA Environmental, Inc will be visiting the Van Buren County schools next week, Thursday, March 6, 2008. Presentations as described below by Riordan, will be presented.
The unexploded ordnance safety presentations are available for students in elementary, middle school and high school. The program is geared toward the specific audience. These are provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and are available to schools in the vicinity of the Former Motlow Range and the Former Spencer Artillery Range. These include the counties of Bledsoe, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren, Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, and Moore Counties. USA Environmental, Inc. is working as a contractor to the Corps of Engineers to provide the training.
Both of these former ranges were closed after World War II. Unexploded ordnance continues to be a hazard in both areas because buried ordnance eventually works it's way back to the surface. These programs are designed to teach children to recognize a potential unexploded ordnance hazard and to give them specific instructions on what to do and what not to do if unexploded ordnance is encountered. A young boy was seriously injured as a result of unexploded ordnance from the Former Spencer Range several years ago. The Corps of Engineers wants to take a pro-active approach to prevent further accidents of this type.
In addition to the programs being provided at no cost to the schools, these programs are also available to other interested groups, such as scouts, hunters, outdoor recreation groups, construction workers, and utility workers who may be required to work on these sites. Any types of intrusive operations (disturbing the surface of the ground) could result in an encounter with unexploded ordnance. The Corps of Engineers wants to assure that anyone potentially exposed will have access to this training.

[alleycat]

I used to work for an engineering firm in Clarksville. About a year after I left the company, one of the crews surveyed some property near Ft. Campbell. One of the guys found an interesting looking object and brought it back to the office. Well, he couldn't get it opened so he banged it on something. Uh, it turned out to be an unexploded part of an artillery round. He blew up the office (no, I'm not kidding). Three went to the hospital, but luckily no one was killed.

[bbkaren]

Mother of God!

Jeez--

From time to time we get the bomb squad here in my town because Picatinny Arsenal is here, and people who used to work there would bring home souvenirs or whatever from work which eventually made their way into the basement (generally unarmed). Then they sell the house and the new homeowner finds a bomb-looking thing in their new basement and freaks out.

I'm not sure what I'd do if I saw something like that; but I could bet I'd probably not bang it to try to open it.

Heck, when we go shooting, I can't shake the fear that the gun will somehow shoot backwards, or it'll shoot without pulling the trigger lol. I'm even afraid to handle the bullets, like they're going to explode in my hand when they bump together. (Thanks a lot, Mom, for making me so neurotic about such things growing up lol! Now I'm 43 and afraid to be nearby when someone changes the tank on the grill--much less do it myself!)

[alleycat]

It's amazing the things people kept as souvenirs back during the WWII era. Not just little things like grenades, but bazooka and artillery rounds. I think they discovered someone with a torpedo a few years ago.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by alleycat

I used to work for an engineering firm in Clarksville. About a year after I left the company, one of the crews surveyed some property near Ft. Campbell. One of the guys found an interesting looking object and brought it back to the office. Well, he couldn't get it opened so he banged it on something. Uh, it turned out to be an unexploded part of an artillery round. He blew up the office (no, I'm not kidding). Three went to the hospital, but luckily no one was killed.

Aw jeez. He was probably the opening story on a lot of talk radio shows, too.