The Indiana National Guard armory in Plymouth is once again available for use by military families and for rentals. Both were suspended recently after lead dust contamination was found inside the facility. Indiana National Guard officials say it’s residue from old indoor firing ranges and other uses of the buildings. They are in the process of testing and remediating facilities across the state.
The issue was identified during required periodical industrial health surveys. Indiana National Guard officials are currently performing follow-up testing, analysis and remediation of all armories as necessary. Public access may be limited until they can meet strict federal surface dust level standards.
Armories in Bloomington, Danville, Elkhart, Evansville and Crawfordsville also reopened recently.
Cleanup efforts are continuing at several other facilities. Civilians can still enter the buildings for official business like getting or updating a military identification card. National Guard officials stress the buildings are safe for workers, although alternate accommodations will be made for pregnant servicemembers, employees and contractors. Additionally, no future rental contracts will be entered into until the buildings are approved for public use.
National Guard officials stress they are erring on the side of caution in the name of public safety. As of right now, armory rentals in LaPorte, Michigan City, Valparaiso, Anderson, Angola, Bedford, Bluffton, Brazil (with limited office space approved for public use as of Nov. 30, 2015), Columbus, Connersville, Elwood, Fort Wayne, Frankfort, Gary – 15th Ave., Greencastle, Greenfield, Hartford City, Huntington, Jasper, Lafayette (approved rental only for Purdue University classroom in areas of the armory not affected), Lebanon, Linton, Kokomo, Logansport, Marion, Martinsville, Monticello, Muncie, New Albany, North Vernon, Peru, Remington, Rensselaer, Richmond, Scottsburg, Seymour, Shelbyville, South Bend, Tyndall, Vincennes, Warsaw, Washington and Winchester.
Meanwhile, the following armories remain available to the public for routine usage, including armory rentals: Camp Atterbury, the Gary Readiness Center, Hammond, 38th Infantry Division, Johnson County, Lawrence, Madison, Muscatatuck, Rockville, Salem, Stout Field and the Terre Haute Maple Street location.
