Lake City Army Ammunition Plant

A worker at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant packs two cans of newly manufactured 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition into a wirebound crate. (ca. 1998)
Headstamp of a .50 caliber cartridge casing made at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in 1943 and recovered from the Sahuarita Bombing and Gunnery Range in 2012.

Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP) is a 3,935-acre (15.92 km2) U.S. government-owned, contractor-operated facility in northeastern Independence, Missouri, that was established by Remington Arms in 1941 to manufacture and test small caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army. The facility has remained in continuous operation except for one 5-year period following World War II.[1][2] As of July 2007, the plant produced nearly 1.4 billion rounds of ammunition per year.[3] In addition, Lake City performs small caliber ammunition stockpile reliability testing and has ammunition and weapon testing responsibilities as the NATO National and Regional Test Center.

Remington Arms operated the plant from its inception until 1985, when operations were taken over by Olin Corporation.[2] Since April 2001, it has been operated by Alliant Techsystems (ATK) (renamed Orbital ATK after a merger in 2015). LCAAP is the single largest producer of small arms ammunition for the United States Armed Forces.[3][4]

Finished outer boxes of the commercial pack, each containing 1,800 rounds, are palletized before the entire pallet is shrink-wrapped for shipment.

Capabilities

Capabilities of the plant include: Small arms cartridges; components such as percussion and electric primer; pyrotechnics; small caliber ammunition (5.56 mm; 7.62 mm; .50 caliber and 20 mm); performs reliability testing of small caliber ammunition (5.56 mm; 7.62 mm; 9 mm, .22 caliber; .45 caliber and .50 caliber); demilitarization and disposal of small caliber ammunition and explosives.[5]

History

LCAAP was established in December 1940 as the Lake City Arsenal, with production beginning in 1941. It was the first of 12 small arms plants run by the Army.[5]

Facilities

LCAAP is housed on 3,935 acres (15.92 km2) with 458 buildings, 40 igloos and storage capacity of 707,000 square feet (65,700 m2).[5]

Hazardous waste contamination

Historically, LCAAP waste treatment and disposal occurred on-site and relied on unlined lagoons, landfills, and burn pits. The plant generated large quantities of potentially hazardous wastes and hazardous substances, including solvents, oils, greases, explosives, radionuclides, perchlorates, and heavy metals. As a result of the extensive contamination, the site has been named to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lake City Army Ammunition Plant Lagoon". National Priorities List. Environmental Protection Agency. 30 January 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Lake City Army Ammunition Plant". GlobalSecurity.org.
  3. 1 2 Lardner, Richard. "Ammo makers prepare for drop in demand". USA Today. 23 July 2007.
  4. ↑ "ATK Receives $52.2 Million to Modernize the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant". Press Release. AmmoLand. 30 January 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Information Provided by the Joint Munitions Command

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Joint Munitions Command".

Coordinates: 39°05′47″N 94°14′52″W / 39.09639°N 94.24778°W / 39.09639; -94.24778

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