The State - News from May 23, 1988

As much as 1.6 million pounds of ammonium perchlorate, the rocket fuel ingredient blamed for a recent massive explosion in Nevada, are stored at a defense contractor’s plant in Sacramento, it was reported. The chemical is among dozens of hazardous materials stored on an 8,500-acre site owned by Aerojet General, according to an inventory obtained by the Sacramento Bee. Others included 64,000 pounds of asbestos and 80,000 pounds of arsenic. Ammonium perchlorate was identified as the main fuel responsible for the Henderson, Nev., factory blast that killed two people and injured 322 others. Aerojet spokesman Tom Fitzgerald said the company has been handling and storing hazardous materials for many years, and that “safe handling and proper distancing are the reason we feel we have a very safe operation.” Storage buildings for ammonium perchlorate have been constructed several hundred yards apart and near the center of the Aerojet site, he said, which means they are 1 to 2 miles from the site’s boundaries.