Renee Hale is concerned about her home, built on a WWII testing ground. Photo by Bob Scott

When Renee Hale, 50, moved to her new home in southeast Orlando, Fla., in 2002, she never expected to worry about bombs in the neighborhood. But six years later, bombs and munitions are common conversation topics. That’s because Hale’s home was built just outside a World War II-era military demonstration ground, a fact that Hale and her neighbors learned about last year after the Army Corps of Engineers was called in to investigate some suspicious items in the area.

These days it’s not unusual to see Army Corps personnel combing the area with metal detectors looking for munitions that remain buried 60 years later. So far, nearly 200 items have been recovered, including 23-pound bombs, rockets and incendiary devices.

Hale and other residents now wonder about their personal safety and the long-term health effects of living amid munitions. They also worry that the value of their homes is shrinking rapidly.

“I was really upset,” Hale says. “I’m self-employed. I don’t have a 401(k). My house, that’s my investment.”

Carson Chandler, a spokesman for the city of Orlando, says officials knew about the former military site—one of more than 700 in Florida—but believed that it had been cleared years ago. “This is a horrible situation for these residents,” Chandler says. “For us right now, this issue is still a life-safety issue.”