[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS: "Marines Killed When 'Duds' Blew Up During Cleanup, " Camp Pendleton, California

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Marines Killed When 'Duds' Blew Up During Cleanup
Fatal Victims Were Handling Ordnance as They Cleaned Up Firing Range

By Ben Kesling and Julian E. Barnes
Wall Street Journal
November 14, 2013 

The Marine Corps on Thursday provided details of an accident that killed four Marines Wednesday at Camp Pendleton in California, blaming a surprise detonation of unexploded ordnance during a firing-range cleanup.

The Marines were noncommissioned officers, including three senior NCOs, who had been specially trained in explosive-ordnance disposal, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Neil Murphy said. Their names haven't been released, pending notification of relatives.

The four were part of a team collecting and preparing to dispose of 40 mm high-explosive grenade rounds that had been fired but didn't explode on impact, Lt. Col. Murphy said. Such rounds, known as duds, remain dangerous, as the explosive material remains intact and the round can be unstable.

…

For the entire article, see
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303789604579198041969525378

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
LSiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org




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