The "Cooper bomb," approximately 14 inches long and 5 inches thick, was found as part of the Army's "extensive" survey to excavate possible buried munitions and remediate the area, said Middlesex County College police Chief Neil Brosnan.
EDISON — A vintage WWI aerial bomb was found by the Army Corps of Engineers Sunday morning at Middlesex County College, authorities said.
As part of a pre-approved Army Corps survey in the area, a "severely disintegrated" World War I Cooper bomb was located, said Middlesex County College police Chief Neil Brosnan. The bomb found was approximately 14 inches long and 5 inches thick.
The college is built on the former U.S. Army Raritan Arsenal, which opened in 1913 and closed in 1963. Brosnan said the area where the bomb was found, near the college's parking lot 6A, was identified as being a storage facility when the site was active.
"We did not stumble upon this today, this was by design for us to identify these things, get them and dispose of them accordingly," Brosnan said.
When Navy officers arrived, they could not make an actual determination whether the bomb was live or not, but they determined it was stable enough so that it could be transported to Navy base Earle in Colts Neck.
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Middlesex County College President Joann La Perla-Morales said the university has a process for these types of incidents.
"As the chief said, this was part of ongoing remediation," La Perla-Morales said. "These things have happened in the past."
In April, a 500-pound World War II bomb was found on the campus during excavation for a new enrollment center.
The New Jersey State Police bomb squad were also called into assist, said Lt. Brian Polite, a State Police spokesman. Members of the Edison fire department and county fire marshal's office were also at the scene.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.