UXO Site selected: REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL

General Area: Huntsville, AL

Site Type/Program: RCWM sites (Non-stockpile)

Location: Redstone Arsenal is located next to the city of Huntsville.

Brief History:

Pre-1941 This location was known as the Gulf Chemical Depot.

2 July 1941 The preliminary plan was presented for the acquisition of 32,244 acres for the construction of Huntsville Arsenal. The depot's original mission included receipt, storage, and shipment of Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) munitions, bulk chemicals, decontaminating apparatuses, and protective material. By the end of World War II (WWII), the depot became a focal point for the return of munitions from overseas.

January 1943 During filling operations of the Navy MK42 bomb, the bombs tilted on the assembly line pallets and the bomb screw closures leaked.

1945 - 1946 The depot was also responsible for the segregation and classification of all ammunition and decontamination and disposal of foreign "war gases."



Range / Site Description: History Continued

15 January 1947 The functions of Gulf Chemical Depot were transferred to Huntsville Arsenal. Redstone Ordnance Plant (now know as Redstone Arsenal) was built on 4,000 acres of land on the southeastern project area making the total area of the site 38,300 acres. This plant was responsible for the assembly of chemical munitions and loading and assembling all bursters for chemical projectiles and bombs. The Huntsville Arsenal mission included the production of chemical agents, smoke, and incendiary material, which were used to fill projectiles, grenades, smoke pots, and bombs.

February 1947 After WWII, the activities of both arsenals were decreased and each arsenal was put on stand-by status. Huntsville Arsenal was declared surplus and placed under caretaker status under Redstone Arsenal (RSA).

May 1947 – August 1947 Demilitarization programs were started. Historical records indicate that over 1 million rounds were disposed of within a 6-month period. Clean-up operations were conducted by the U.S. Army Technical Service Unit (TSU) (predecessor to today’s Technical Escort Unit [TEU]) from this time and again from January 1948 to March 1949.

1 June 1949 RSA was reactivated for research and development of rocket systems, a mission, which it retains to the present day.

1977 The Installation Assessment was conducted, which states that contaminations in the plant areas were a result of manufacture of mustard, lewisite, phosgene, and chlorine at RSA and stored at the Gulf Chemical Depot. Tons of munitions containing chemical agents were shipped, stored, demilitarized, and processed through RSA. The assessment cites an unknown historical document as follows, “Filling of M47A2 bombs began in October 1942, but assembly lines were not adequately designed for bomb filling, consequently serious contamination resulted.

16 August 2000 One cylinder, suspected of containing phosgene, was found.

Historical records give a good account of the activities conducted on the site including areas where CWM was disposed, manufactured, stored, demilitarized, or destroyed.

Known and Suspect CWM Areas include:
Chemical Training Facility EE,
Inactive Chemical Disposal Site H,
Inactive Disposal Site N,
Former Disposal Site P,
Former Disposal Site O,
Former Chemical Disposal Site M,
Former Mustard Gas Demil Site BB,
Former Chemical Storage Area,
Former Chemical Storage Area AA,
Toxic Area Z,
Former Mustard Gas Storage Area Y,
Toxic Chemical Area Y1,
World War II Lewisite Manufacturing Facility Site,
Area of Former Mustard Gas Demil Operations,
Old Bone Yard Site,
Mustard Gas Demil Site and Disposal Trenches and Burn Pits
Area 2,
HD (distilled mustard) Burial Site,
Lewisite Waste Lagoon,
Toxic Area 4.


Associated Munitions: CWM and CWA. Redstone produced significant amounts of chemical weapons during the WWII era.

Activities Completed: Interim Remedial Actions (RAs), designed to prevent contamination migration from waste disposal lagoons used in the manufacturing of Lewisite, have been conducted at two sites. Investigations of four manufacturing, six storage, and eleven suspected demilitarization/disposal areas of CWM were performed in FY96.

Issues: Redstone Arsenal includes RCWM sites, conventional UXO MMRP sites, and operational range area.

Other Information: The USACE has conducted extensive hazardous, toxic, and radiological waste (HTRW) and MMRP studies at RSA. Huntsville Division, the Corps' Center of Expertise for CWM, and the Savannah District, USACE, is supporting the HTRW mission.

If you have or know of any chanegs to the information posted about or want to donate additional images or reports on REDSTONE ARSENAL, AL, please email UXOInfo.com at information@uxoinfo.com

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