Munitions burning may get stricter controls

Monday, March 13, 2000 | 11:39 a.m.

Activists suspect the open burning of munitions at the depot 55 miles north of Reno, Nev., is causing cancer and other health problems in California and Nevada.

"Right now, there are Army procedures Sierra Army Depot has to follow but it can change those rules internally," said Ken Smith, the county's air-pollution control officer.

"We want to eliminate that internal control and make them subject to the control of the air pollution district."

The depot's daily logs showed nearly half the detonations at the depot in 1999 were on designated no-burn days in the county.

Those days regulate agricultural burning, but Smith wants to make the depot comply with no-burn days as part of the county permit.

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