Marty Gordon
Officials from the Radford Army Ammunition Plant say a search for missing totes of chemical washed away during October’s floodwaters has been paused but not stopped.
Mark Kane is a public affairs specialist with the Joint Munitions Command. He said Friday the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) continues to search for the missing totes.
After the extensive 45-day search by helicopter (35+ miles), drone (60+ miles), boat (11 miles), and by foot search (13+ sq. miles) on and surrounding RFAAP property up through West Virginia, the plant and its operating company, BAE Systems paused the search this past week to analyze data and determine the best way ahead for continued search efforts.
“With the defoliage of the trees, the range of visibility has been extended. To take advantage, BAE Systems personnel will continue to search along the New River. Our team continues regular check-ins with Pulaski County, Giles County, Montgomery County, and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to maintain outreach efforts with the wider emergency response network. We are actively engaged with debris clean-up efforts to recover the remaining containers that may be hidden in the extensive debris piles,” Kane said.
Chemicals from the Radford Army Ammunition Plant were swept away by last month’s
floodwaters, but plant officials say they feel there is no danger to the public.
Last month’s flood caused problems throughout the New River Valley including at the RAAP. Prior to the flood, the plant team tried to mitigate impacts from the flood. This included moving 14 tractor trailers of material up ground from the river, prioritizing the product based on safety and potential for rapidly rising water levels in buildings. Despite that work, 13 totes of Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) were swept away by the flooding from a warehouse near the New River.
DBP is a liquid placticizer found in nail polish and hair spray, which was being stored in Area 13 of the facility.
Eight 275-gallon containers, 4’-by-4’-by-4’ cubes, white in color, with silver caging around them, are still missing. The size of the containers are close to a small car. If the label is intact, they may have a BAE Systems logo on the side. The lids on the top of totes are red, green, or black.
Kane said should the community locate one or more of these containers, please contact your local authorities non-emergency line.
“They know how to connect with the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. To avoid causing additional spillage or injury, please do not touch the totes,” he said.
Throughout the process, the community support has been remarkable.
According to Kane, recently BAE Systems was notified by a local resident of a potential tote finding.
“We quickly contacted the individual to complete a comprehensive review of the tote’s condition and contents. We are currently coordinating recovery and return of the tote to RFAAP,” he said.
The team continues to search the New River and land surrounding the Radford Army Ammunition Plant.
“There are debris piles along the river all the way up to the Blue Stone Dam (West Virginia) that are, in some cases, 10-12 feet high. It is entirely possible these totes are underneath the debris piles and won’t be discovered until those piles are cleaned up,” Bane said.
But through all of the information, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality officials say there is no major concern to the public when it comes to the containers. No water intakes currently exist past the plant’s location on the river.
