San Diego

A World War II artillery shell found by construction workers in Tierrasanta on Thursday afternoon is being tested at Miramar Naval Air Station for its potential hazards, said Chief Craig Huebler of the office of the commander of the San Diego Naval Base.

Huebler said workers at the eastern end of Antigua Boulevard called officials at 70th Army Ordnance Unit at Ft. Rosecrans, who took the four-inch shell to Miramar for inspection.

Because this type of shell contained chemicals during the war, Huebler said it posed the threat of an explosion.

“There’s no way to tell if these ordnance, even though they’re old, will explode,” Huebler said. “Just banging it (on something) can cause it to explode.”

So far, he said observations indicate “the likelihood is minimal that this shell had any chemical content.”

Huebler said sweeps of the area over the last four years have turned up such shells, used during World War II when the Marines played “war games” with tanks and armaments in the area, which used to be part of Camp Elliott.

He said continuing efforts have been made to clean up the area and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the planning stages of making a complete sweep of the area.

“We expect more to be found,” Huebler said. “Most have been recovered. There have been efforts to alert children and parents that if they find one, leave it alone, and get a hold of the Army Ordnance Unit.”