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These munitions were recovered over the past two years using redundant safety measures including a blast containment structure, a siren, warning signs and instructions for nearby residents to shelter “in place.” None of these safety measures will be in effect during the munitions destruction. The safety arc during recovery was 740 feet, but the safety arc for the destruction has been reduced to 400 feet. We’re dealing with the same munitions, chemical warfare agents and explosives. Why the 340-foot difference?
The Army Corps of Engineers wants to dispose of bombs that could be considered weapons of mass destruction behind Sibley Memorial Hospital, on federal land close to the Dalecarlia Reservoir, which supplies drinking water to D.C. and parts of Northern Virginia ... In 1917 the Army ... blew up bombs in the fields and forests around the [American University] campus. For decades, as the fields were carved into streets with stately homes, the former use stayed a secret, and toxic chemicals stayed buried. In 1993, construction workers bulldozed up bombs. The corps has been digging up weapons pits and cleaning gardens for 16 years ...
Slowinski and ANC Commissioner Nan Wells ... want deeper investigations into the history and the land. They want a health study, which might lead to more chemicals. They are not sure they want the bombs blown up in the neighborhood. "Why not hold off on destruction until they see if they find more munitions?" Slowinski asks. "They can destroy it all -- at the Naval Research Lab."
Harry Jaffe
Washington Examiner
December 9, 2009
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