Update to April 22nd Incident at Radford Army Ammunition Plant

Radford, Va. – Tuesday, April 22 there was a spill of weak nitric acid at Radford Army Ammunition Plant.  One employee was evacuated via air to Roanoke Memorial for observation.

The employee was released Wednesday morning.  We will not provide additional information on this employee for privacy reasons.

Radford employees were advised to shelter in place out of an abundance of caution to ensure employee safety.  There was no danger to the off-post community.

The spill involved approximately 600 gallons of weak nitric acid in a railcar in preparation for material unloading. Weak nitric acid refers to a solution of nitric acid (HNO3) in water that has a concentration of 69.20% or less. It’s essentially a diluted form of nitric acid, where the amount of acid in the solution is lower than what’s considered a concentrated or strong solution.  Both weak and strong nitric acid are used in the recycling (propellant making) process.  The cause of the spill is under investigation.  Once the investigation is complete, the root cause will be addressed to prevent future incidents.

The spill was reported to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  The acid was confined to a small area on the plant.  Radford employees immediately began mitigation efforts to neutralize the acid with soda ash.  The spill was contained and neutralized by 2 p.m. on April 22.  There is no danger to the environment off post to include the river.

This incident will not impact production at Radford.

This spill is not related to the permit variance request for Radford to use recycled acid from defense affiliate facilities.  The weak nitric acid involved in this incident was not recycled acid.

The Radford team would like to recognize and thank our surrounding area partners for their assistance and support:  Pulaski Public Safety (EMS), Fairlawn Fire Department (Pulaski County), Carilion Lifeguard (Medivac), Montgomery County Emergency Management.