May 21, 2013

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Reporter: AP Email

Sheriff: Explosives Could Have Brought Chain-Reaction Blasts

DOYLINE, La. (AP) - As authorities slowly move 6 million pounds of explosives that had been improperly stored at a munitions recycling facility, they're revealing more details about the kind of danger the explosives posed.

The sheriff in Webster Parish, La., says a blast in one building could have triggered a chain reaction of explosives in other parts of the facility -- because corridors connecting the buildings were packed with explosive materials. Those materials included a propellant that is used in artillery shells.

Dozens of workers at the site are moving the materials to safe bunkers on the site, a former Army base.

Officials are keeping an eye on the weather, and they'll stop work if there's a threat of thunderstorms.

Site work is being directed by state police, who have opened an investigation into why the materials were stored improperly.

A voluntary evacuation for the community of Doyline, near the site, is expected to remain in effect at least until Friday.


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