Residents near the Lake City Army Ammunition plant remain skeptical of the Army's claim that depleted uranium poses no threat to people near the plant.

"No, I do not believe it one bit," said Nancy Scott, an Independence resident who lives just north of the plant. "If this is anything like other government operations, how can we know that they are telling the truth?"

Scott was one of about 20 residents at the quarterly meeting of the Restoration Advisory Board Tuesday night. The crowd was quite a bit larger than the handful that usually attends the meetings.

Scott has reason to be skeptical of the Army's explanations. Just last week, Lake City commander Col. Ronald Alberto denied that Lake City ever produced DU penetrator shells. Officials said last night that the plant produced about 3,500 DU penetrator casings but denied that the shells were ever tested or fired at Lake City.

Alberto attended Tuesday's meeting by speakerphone from Florida, where he is attending a conference. He was not available for comment this morning.

Many residents at the meeting had questions about DU and, in particular, about whether activities at Lake City could have produced airborne DU particles that might have traveled onto surrounding properties.

Lake City officials did not have the answer to that question precisely.

Bill Melton, the top civilian administrator at Lake City, said he did not know exactly how much of the DU material was recovered from the impact areas, as compared to the amount of material fired.

"All we have to go on is the historical records from that period and I have not seen any documentation like that in my review of those documents," Melton said.

In other words, the percentage of material that might have vaporized into dust particles is not precisely known. Melton promised to research the matter further before the next RAB meeting March 27.

He also offered assurances that what DU remains on the site poses no threat to people around the plant. Representatives of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency echoed those assurances.

"We agree with the Army that, as long as there is no one being exposed to the DU, there is not really a threat," said EPA representative Scott Marcus.

The DNR representative, Mitchell Scherzinger, said that the state requires careful monitoring of all activities at the plant now, including cleanup projects.

Scherzinger said that air tests during a DU cleanup project last year found no airborne DU near the work site.

"I believe that when these shells impacted, a very small quantity went airborne. Such a small amount is just not detectable," Scherzinger said.

He said any airborne DU would likely not travel far from the impact point because it is such a heavy metal.

The assurances offered little comfort to Scott. She worked at Lake City for 11 years, calculating product tests and doing other administrative work, during the 1970s when DU shells were being decommissioned at the plant. Her husband and father-in-law were also employed at Lake City.

Scott said her work exposed her to every area of the plant and she now believes that exposure to contaminants is at the root of her chronic health problems. She has already scheduled an appointment with her physician to talk about toxic exposure.

"I have been around this place long enough to know that the Army only tells you want they want you to know," Scott said.

Greg Perry, a resident member of the RAB, on Tuesday requested that RAB meetings be held every two months. He said he hopes specific answers will be forthcoming at the next meeting.

"I think citizens surely have a right to be skeptical," Perry said. "There are so many unknowns out there when you really get into it."

To reach Darla McFarland e-mail darlam@examiner.net or call 350-6321.

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