Ravenna Ordnance Plant
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The Ravenna Ordnance Plant, officially the Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant (RVAAP)[1] and commonly known as the Ravenna Arsenal, was a United States military ammunition production facility located between Ravenna and Windham in the U.S. State of Ohio. The plant was at peak operation during World War II, and remains an important part of the history and geography of Portage County, Ohio.
[edit] History
In 1940, the United States Department of the Army reserved 21,418 acres for the construction of two facilities[2]: The Ravenna Ordnance Plant, near Ravenna; and the Portage Ordnance Depot, near Windham. The facilities officially opened on March 23, 1942, although the Atlas Powder Company commenced operations there the previous year. During World War II, the two facilities were combined as the Ravenna Arsenal.[1][2]
The Arsenal was particularly noted for improving upon the manufacture of trinitrotoluene, or TNT, during the war.
The site is now used as a training facility for National Guard and Reserve units. As of 2006, it is a Superfund site and plans to burn some of the buildings at the site were being discussed. However, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) work group has recently recommended that the Army not burn the buildings due to the high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the paint[3]. The Army is now looking at alternatives to burning the buildings, but the buildings are also contaminated with explosives, which make traditional methods of demolition dangerous for workers.
[edit] References
- ^ a b RVAAP page on GlobalSecurity.org
- ^ a b Ravenna Arsenal page on OhioTrespassers.com
- ^ Burning Ravenna Arsenal unlikely
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