ROCKETDYNE BLOWS UP SHELLS; ROUNDS FOUND IN ONE OF TWO GUNNERY TEST SITES.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer Three artillery shells discovered at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
The shells were found in an area where Rocketdyne had conducted munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. firing for decades - something company officials said has been well-documented. But community members overseeing cleanup at the former nuclear site said word of the tests came as a surprise. The company had operated two separate firing operations on a non-nuclear portion of site in the hills above Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - a tunnel facility, which was an enclosed en·close also in·close tr.v. en·closed, en·clos·ing, en·clos·es 1. To surround on all sides; close in. 2. To fence in so as to prevent common use: enclosed the pasture. structure with windows and cameras to document munition tests, and an outdoor firing wall which also was used to test speed and force of the artillery. The sites are in the Happy Valley portion of the sprawling field lab, where investigators last week discovered the shells as they were collecting data samples as part of the $55 million cleanup operations. ``This was artillery shells, mortar shells, some kind of munition - this was all new,'' said Daniel Hirsch, a member of the advisory committee overseeing cleanup at the site. ``Part of Rocketdyne's function was not just developing rockets, but developing shells and munitions. That's never been said.'' However, Rocketdyne spokesman Dan Beck said the operations were well-documented in the cleanup plan, a public document being used by state investigators and others surveying the site. ``It's just an attempt on their part to add to this sinister sinister /si·nis·ter/ (sin´is-ter) [L.] left; on the left side. sin·is·ter adj. 1. Presaging trouble; ominous. 2. On the left side; left. impression they're trying to create about the activities that went on at Rocketdyne,'' Beck said about those questioning the operations. Beck added that the operations, particularly the outdoor firing wall that was closed in 1993, was a fixed facility operated under controlled testing circumstances. ``It's not like they were spraying artillery shells all over the hillside,'' said Beck. ``These were not like open ranges.'' On Tuesday, the company detonated the munitions in three separate explosions that probably went unnoticed by neighbors, officials said. The devices contained fuses but may have been dummies. They were detonated to further determine their makeup makeup In the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels' faces . Officials believe destroying the devices on site in heavily reinforced bunkers was preferable to transporting them to an off-site facility. Rocketdyne had tried twice during the past week to detonate det·o·nate intr. & tr.v. det·o·nat·ed, det·o·nat·ing, det·o·nates To explode or cause to explode. [Latin d the devices, but plans were thwarted thwart tr.v. thwart·ed, thwart·ing, thwarts 1. To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans. 2. first by the holiday weekend then by wildfires in the area that prevented fire department officials from overseeing the explosions. ``Everything went off without a hitch hitch to fasten by a knot, usually used to describe tying a horse to a post. ,'' said Beck. ``We're confident they could hear very little, if anything, in the homes in Bell Canyon. Our rocket tests are louder than that.'' |
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