Hawthorne Army Ammunition Depot, Nevada

The largest ammunition storage depot in the country. There are 3,500 buildings on the 147,000 acre main facility, located in western Nevada. Operated by the Day Zimmerman Hawthorne Corporation for the Army, which acquired the site from the Navy in 1977. Facilities include 2,427 munitions storage igloos, 75% of which are in use; the Western Area Demilitarization Facility, a $68 million, 13 building complex that processes and recycles outdated munitions; and a 700-acre bomb disposal site located 25 miles northeast of Hawthorne. The installation employs around 700 people, all but one of whom are civilians. Over the years chemical weapons have been stored and disposed of at Hawthorne, and there are several areas contaminated by mustard gas and other chemical agents. Much of Oregon's Umatilla Army Depot, Arizona's Navajo Army Depot, and New Mexico's Fort Wingate operations were moved to Hawthorne in the early 1990's. The Navy's Underwater Nuclear Warfare Center had a location here as well.