The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is recommending tearing down a Spring Valley home to identify and remove World War I-era munitions and chemicals feared to be buried beneath it. Since 2000, the Army Corps has removed more than 500 munitions items, 400 pounds of laboratory glassware and more than 100 tons of soil contaminated with arsenic and other hazardous substances from 4825 Glenbrook Road, officials said.
... In 1918, 4825 Glenbrook Road was a dumpsite for chemical and explosive munitions and related debris; officials believe a pit was disturbed when the home was built, scattering that material throughout the property. The Army is now proposing to clean up whatever it finds beneath the home to a depth of 12 feet, spending an estimated $12.5 million to restore the site to residential standards.
Brady Holt
Northwest Current
August 10, 2011 (pg. 1)
ARMY TIMES (8/19/11):
ReplyDelete"Since 1993, when construction workers uncovered World War I-era chemical weapons rounds in the neighborhood, the Corps of Engineers has sought to clean up the area.. The Corps tested soil at 1,602 Spring Valley homes for arsenic, removing and replacing soil at 140. It has uncovered nearly 600 pieces of ordnance and found intact containers of chemicals and chemical warfare agents ... The estimated cost of tearing down 4235 Glenbrook Road NW and cleaning up the lot is $13.5 million, not including compensation for the structure, according to the Corps of Engineers. The unoccupied house is owned by American University. The Corps has spent $190 million since 1993 to cleanup the neighborhood, according to the Environmental Protection Agency."
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/08/military-chemical-munitions-plague-washington-neighborhood-081911w/