Residents around Middletown and the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant may hear loud booms next week as the facility conducts routine live-fire testing.
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant says it will test 40-pound cratering charges on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 29th and 30th. Ten charges are scheduled to be detonated each day.
Testing will take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., weather permitting. Rain or high winds could delay the operation.
The plant says live-fire testing is a routine activity at the facility. While the detonations may be heard outside the plant, noise levels are not expected to reach levels that would cause concern for the public.
IAAAP is also emphasizing that next week’s testing is not connected to lead azide currently stored at the plant.
Unused production supplies of lead azide have been reclassified as hazardous waste and are awaiting disposal. The plant says destruction of that material is planned for later this year, and information about that operation will be communicated to the public separately.
IAAAP says safety procedures will be followed throughout next week’s testing.