A 1960 explosion involving a nuclear-tipped missile at McGuire Air Force Base left radioactive contamination that required decades of cleanup.
Wrightstown, NJ – A Cold War missile accident at what is now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst left behind radioactive contamination that remained a concern for decades.
The incident occurred on June 7, 1960, when a fire and explosion broke out inside a shelter housing a CIM-10 BOMARC missile at the military installation in Ocean County.
Key Points
• Explosion occurred in a nuclear-armed BOMARC missile at McGuire AFB in 1960
• Radioactive materials including plutonium contaminated the site
• Cleanup efforts continued for decades at the fenced BOMARC RW-01 area
Explosion inside missile shelter
The accident occurred at Launcher Shelter 204, one of dozens of missile shelters located at the BOMARC Base No. 1 complex.
Officials said a helium tank inside the missile exploded, igniting a fire in the liquid-fueled missile. The blaze burned for about 30 minutes before firefighters began efforts to control it.
Firefighting operations lasted roughly 15 hours. Water used to fight the fire carried contaminated debris out of the shelter and into nearby pavement and drainage areas.
Radioactive contamination discovered
The missile involved in the accident carried a nuclear warhead containing weapons-grade plutonium and uranium materials.
Investigators later estimated that about 300 grams of weapons-grade plutonium were never recovered after the explosion.
Military officials said most radioactive material from the damaged weapon was removed and shipped to facilities in Texas for disposal.
Site monitored and cleaned for decades
The contaminated area became known as BOMARC Site RW-01, a fenced 75-acre section of the former missile base.
Studies conducted in the years following the accident detected traces of radioactive material, including americium-241, which is associated with plutonium. From 2002 through 2004, crews removed nearly 22,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris from the site and transported it to a disposal facility in Utah. Additional remediation continued into the mid-2000s as officials worked to remove remaining contaminated materials.
Part of Cold War missile defense network
The BOMARC missile system was part of the United States’ Cold War air defense network designed to intercept incoming Soviet bombers. The McGuire installation was one of two BOMARC bases protecting the New York Air Defense Sector and was among the first operational sites when it opened in 1959.
Today, the former launch site remains fenced and monitored as part of long-term environmental management efforts at the military installation. It can be accessed through the main southern access road at Colliers Mills. Be careful, there are cameras all over, but if you’re adventurous and a little radiation doesn’t bother you, you can get right to the fence that blocks off the remnants of the existing bunkers.
