I work as a R&D Engineer in the armor industry and we have an applications lab in a small city in VA which I imagine has relatively lax zoning regulations. The

I work as a R&D Engineer in the armor industry and we have an applications lab in a small city in VA which I imagine has relatively lax zoning regulations. The lab is located in a large old tabaco processing warehouse and a few years back a developer bought half the building and put in apartments. Anyway not sure most residents even know where there but we have tons of hazardous chemicals at the site including drums of JP8 (jet fuel) stored outside near the “common areas”, giant totes of cyclohexane in a shed on the parking lot. Inside we also have a polymer production line where one has to wear anti static shoes and all the equipment doors are blast rated because of the explosive hazards. We also have a ballistics range in the building shooting up to .50 cal armor piercing rounds. We also have regular evac and containment drills in case something goes terribly wrong. This is all fine and good as I’m well aware of any risks working there but the residents a few walls removed might have a different opinion if they took a stroll through our facility. Point being, sometimes a few zoning regs can be a good thing ;)