Minden, Louisiana The EPA has announced plans to burn 15 million pounds of M6 propellant explosives housed at the National Guard's Camp Minden in rural Webster Parish, despite warnings from officials that doing so will release toxins into the atmosphere which may be harmful to those exposed.

It is believed that the toxins will rise approximately two miles into the atmosphere, with a potential to eventually cover the entire corner of the state, even spreading into Texas or Arkansas. Exposure may result in cancer or blood pressure problems as well as birth defects for children born to those exposed.

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Loveland, Colorado The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) issued a warning to its employees to be on the lookout for explosive fracking pipes on the side of the highway, at rest areas or other places where scrap fracking waste shouldn't normally be found. Similarly, a recent memo sent out by the Loveland Fire Department to city employees advised, "It has come to our attention that recycling businesses and landfills in Colorado are turning away customers who are trying to recycle and dispose of fracking pipe. Fracking pipe is commonly used in Colorado oil/gas wells and contains explosive charges to perforate the tubing in the wells. Sometimes these explosive charges do not detonate and are still 'live' within the pipe; therefore fracking pipe is considered to be extremely dangerous and should not be handled by any city employees."

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana The state of Louisiana has yet to find a way to dispose of 10 million pounds of explosive material that had been improperly stored at a recycling company in the rural northwest. Capt. Taylor Moss, commander of emergency services for the state police, said the state appears to be stuck with the M6 military propellant, because no one has been found to remove or dispose of the material. "Nobody will take it," Moss said after a presentation to the House homeland security committee.

In November, authorities discovered the propellant, which is used in artillery shells, improperly stored at Explo Systems Inc.'s facility at Camp Minden, a Louisiana National Guard base east of Shreveport. The nearby town of Doyline was evacuated for a week in December due to concerns that any ignition could set off a massive chain-reaction blast. During this time, state police worked to secure the site. About 6.5 million pounds of the M6 was moved to bunkers on the base, while another 3.2 million pounds remain unsecured in buildings. There is no more available space for proper storage, Moss said. The propellant is tested periodically and is stable.

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