THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270342
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Children at play came across some old explosives Wednesday evening, but the materials, given their condition, apparently posed more of a chemical threat than anything else.
Police issued a warning to residents of the Three Oaks area to talk with their children and find out if they had been near and touched any of the packages. They said anyone who had contact with the material could be at risk of suffering eye injuries.
The explosives were found about 6 p.m. in a wooded area about 15 feet from the road in the 2200 block of Swaying Limb Lane.
Lou Thurston, a police spokesman, said children who got the materials on their hands could transfer it to their eyes.
Anyone who did have contact with the material was urged to use warm - not hot - water to wash their face and hands. ``This material, if it is rubbed into the eyes, can cause severe damage,'' Thurston said, ``to the point of where one may lose their eyesight.''
The material, in four plastic, cylindrical containers each weighing from 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, was discovered after children carried one of the containers home. Parents took it to a neighbor who is a police officer and he notified superiors.
Officers found the other three containers where the children had been playing. A state police dog trained to find explosives was brought in to scour the area, but no more materials were found.
Police did not say exactly what the material was. Thurston termed it a ``commercial grade explosive.'' Normally, a blasting cap or other detonator would be required to use the materials, but it was unclear how unstable they had become with aging.
The materials were taken away for disposal.
KEYWORDS: EXPLOSIVES HAZARDOUS WASTE by CNB