Fighter Plane Chaff May Get Scrapped

To a U.S. combat pilot, chaff is a good friend. Chaff is a jumble of tiny metallic and silica fibers that can be ejected to confuse an enemy’s radar-directed weapons. A lot of chaff gets used during training missions in the Western U.S., and now there are concerns about what happens when all this chaff hits the ground. Some people say the fibers may pose a health risk to humans and animals. So, auditors at the General Accounting Office are checking it out. And if the GAO decides that chaff is hazardous, the military may have to change the way it trains combat pilots. From Reno, Nevada, Willie Albright reports.