Officials Seek to Quell Fears Near Nevada Air Base

Nevada’s congressional delegation sought this week to quell public fears in Las Vegas that an unusual substance found during work on a nuclear Minuteman missile poses a health risk.

A white crystalline substance was found inside a missile container at Nellis Air Force Base by a crew carrying out safety modifications on the weapon Oct. 13, Air Force officials confirmed this week.

All 15 crew members were tested for exposure to a hazardous substance and doctors found no ill effects, the Air Force said. The substance was found to be urethane with traces of metal plating, which were harmless, officials said.

However, word leaked out this week about the incident at the base just outside of Las Vegas and one television station broadcast rumors that crew members suffered nausea and hair loss.

In response, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Reps. James Bilbray (D-Nev.) and Barbara Vucanovich (R-Nev.) and Air Force officials convened a news conference Wednesday to assure the public that the substance posed no danger and had caused no harm to crew members.

“At no time during the event I’ve described was there any danger to any of our workers, the people of Nellis, or our Las Vegas neighbors,” said Col. Ed Clements. “There was no accident and no violation of weapons handling or maintenance procedures.”

The elected officials, however, expressed concern that they had not been notified of the incident before learning of it from television. Air Force officials defended their action by saying the episode was not important enough to require notification outside the base.

Operations at Nellis often are cloaked in mystery. Long known to house nuclear weapons, the incident brought to light the fact that Minuteman missiles are stored and maintained at the base.