Lake City Army Ammunition Plant



Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP) is a 3935 acre U.S. government-owned, contractor-operated facility in northeastern Independence, Missouri, that was established by Remington Arms in 1941 to manufacture and test small caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army. The facility has remained in continuous operation except for one 5-year period following World War II. As of July 2007, the plant produced nearly 1.4 billion rounds of ammunition per year. In addition, Lake City performs small caliber ammunition stockpile reliability testing and has ammunition and weapon testing responsibilities as the NATO National and Regional Test Center.

Remington Arms operated the plant from its inception until 1985, when operations were taken over by Olin Corporation. Since April 2001, it has been operated by Alliant Techsystems (ATK). LCAAP is the single largest producer of small arms ammunition for the United States military.



Capabilities
Capabilities of the plant include: Small arms cartridges; components such as percussion and electric primer; pyrotechnics; small caliber ammunition (5.56 mm; 7.62 mm; .50 caliber and 20 mm); performs reliability testing of small caliber ammunition (5.56 mm; 7.62 mm; 9 mm, .22 caliber; .45 caliber and .50 caliber); demilitarization and disposal of small caliber ammunition and explosives. Information Provided by the Joint Munitions Command

History
LCAAP was established in December 1940, with production beginning in 1941. It was the first of 12 small arms plants run by the Army. Information Provided by the Joint Munitions Command

Facilities
LCAAP is housed on 3935 acre with 458 buildings, 40 igloos and storage capacity of 707000 sqft. Information Provided by the Joint Munitions Command

Hazardous waste contamination
Historically, LCAAP waste treatment and disposal occurred on-site and relied on unlined lagoons, landfills, and burn pits. The plant generated large quantities of potentially hazardous wastes and hazardous substances, including solvents, oils, greases, explosives, radionuclides, perchlorates, and heavy metals. As a result of the extensive contamination, the site has been named to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List.