
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 11, 1995                   TAG: 9510110087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Medium

PLANT RETURNING TO NORMAL AMID MACHINE PROBE

Twenty-eight workers furloughed this week from the Radford Army Ammunition Plant after a foreign object damaged several pieces of equipment likely will be back at work by the end of the week.

But as operations return to normal, the FBI and plant officials still do not know whether the object, suspected to be a piece of metal, was intentionally put in the manufacturing process in the fourth rolled powder section, where a rocket propellant used in armed helicopters is made.

"We're just looking at all possibilities," said David Burch, FBI supervisory special agent in Roanoke. "We just don't know. At this point, it's too early to tell."

The FBI is investigating because the ammunition plant is a federal facility. Burch said he could not comment further on a pending investigation.

The damage was discovered on machines equipped with rollers during a routine equipment check Thursday, said Nicole Kinser, public affairs director at the ammunition plant. Machines in other buildings at the plant that are used to manufacture the propellant also were damaged.

The object has not been found, though Kinser said metal experts believe the damage was caused by a piece of metal. At this point, it is not known whether the object could have been a nut or bolt that fell and was mixed into the production process or if someone intentionally meant to cause damage, she said.

No equipment has to be replaced, but the object caused enough damage to decrease productivity in the affected part of the ammunition plant. Twenty-eight people on loan from another department who were supposed to work in the area have to take leaves of absence without pay until the problems are fixed, Kinser said.

"If there's no work for them to do, we have to send them home," said Kinser, who added that furloughs are not uncommon at the plant.

A total of 153 people regularly work in the fourth rolled powder area. Kinser said the plant is hoping to get this section fully operational by the end of the week. She did not have an estimate on how much the damage will cost.

The ammunition plant, which employs about 1,200 people, is owned by the U.S. Army but is operated by Alliant Techsystems Inc.

by CNB