by KYW's Ian Bush
The hunt is on in Palmyra, NJ for unexploded artillery shells long since buried under the area around a popular flea market.
During World War II, the US Army developed anti-tank munitions at the Frankford Arsenal and test-fired them across the river in Palmyra.
The shells were sealed undergound with a strong layer of paving when a drive-in movie theatre was built on the site of the firing range in the 1950s, but new construction planned for the area means they've got to go.
John Hogue, the borough's environmental consultant, says a $2-million state grant is funding a metal detector sweep of the site:
"We know what kind of signal they give off in that type of soil. Now we are running grids across the property to see if anything matches that signal."
The shells could be up to two feet long and four inches wide. Crews haven't spotted evidence of any yet. If they do, controlled detonations will end their long lives -- but Hogue says visitors to the Tacony_palmyra flea market shouldn't fear:
"It's as safe as it's been since the area was originally paved. The work we're doing doesn't put anybody at any greater risk."
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