Old explosives cause a stir at L.A. port salvage yard
Sorting through freshly arrived chunks of scrap metal Sunday morning at Terminal Island, a worker came upon a surprise find: a World War II-era hand grenade.
And after police, FBI and military explosives specialists rushed to the Sims Hugo Neu metal yard, they turned up more vintage hand grenades, as well as rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and the casing of a 500-pound bomb.
The source of the materials mystified officials, who did not disclose the total amount of munitions found.
They investigated throughout the day at the 27-acre metal yard at 901 New Dock St. after receiving the report about the hand grenade around 7:30 a.m.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said initial indications suggested that the materials were disposed of several years ago and “in no way appeared to be deliberately left for any kind of nefarious purposes.”
Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad specialists blew up most of the munitions at a remote spot at the Port of Los Angeles.
None of the materials appeared to be still explosive, officials said.
“They had to detonate them, just in case,” said LAPD spokesman Mike Lopez.
Munitions have turned up before at the Terminal Island yard, but not in recent memory, said Theresa Adams Lopez, a spokeswoman for the Port of Los Angeles.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
