Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 1, 1991 TAG: 9102010683
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE/ NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN LENGTH: Medium
The Army also increased orders for a type of propellant made at the Pulaski County arsenal.
The additional work will save the jobs of 130 employees who had been destined for layoffs, Boucher said.
He said the arsenal, which makes rocket propellant, had planned the layoffs for February despite the war in the Persian Gulf.
"This war is basically being fought out of inventory," Boucher said.
Ken Thompson, president of the local Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, which represents about 2,825 arsenal employees, said the company had temporarily reassigned some people because of a lack of work.
"They knew they were working on that TNT contract," he said. "It's sounds better than losing them."
Arsenal spokeswoman Nicole Kinser said the amount of explosives to be made and their destination is classified information.
TNT has not been made in the U.S. for many years, Boucher said. Instead, the government has bought between two and three million pounds a year, mostly from Canada.
Production is scheduled to start in April and run through June. The arsenal is the only facility that will be making the explosive, Boucher said.
He said he hoped to get other special orders to keep the TNT line operating at the plant.
The Air Force also wants to replenish its supply of TNT, and Boucher said he plans to seek appropriations from Congress this spring for the order.
The Air Force contract could extend production at the plant for a year, but it was uncertain whether more workers would be needed.
Boucher said he also wants to establish a permanent national stockpile of TNT and other munitions.
"If the Persian Gulf war has taught us anything, it's that we need a higher state of readiness," he said in a phone interview from his office in Washington.
by CNB