05/11/2026
EPA Region 7 has issued an emergency permit to store hazardous waste at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in a location not covered by their effective Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit.
The plant recently found crystallized lead azide hazardous waste that exhibits the characteristic of reactivity (energetic) and exhibits the characteristic of toxicity for lead. The recrystallization of the stored lead azide has increased the material’s sensitivity to friction and shock.
The plant’s existing RCRA permit authorizes treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste at the facility. However, the storage of this lead azide hazardous waste is in a location not covered for treatment, storage, or disposal under the effective RCRA permit.
This emergency permit is required to protect human health and the environment, establish safe storage procedures, and to authorize the immediate storage of this hazardous waste in-place to safely manage the explosive hazard and mitigate the imminent threat to the surrounding community and the environment.
Click here for the full public notice: https://www.epa.gov/ia/iowa-army-ammunition-plant-middletown-iowa-0.