Plume Maps Trace Contours of AU Groundwater Contamination

 Kreeger Bldg. = 146 ppb in June 2007 (pg. 27)

 "Further planned groundwater study efforts include installation and sampling of the remaining 3 deep wells, quarterly sampling of selected wells for a time frame of 1 year, additional characterization of the perchlorate plume source on the AU campus using 15 temporary wells upgradient of the highest perchlorate concentrations to date, and isotopic analysis of perchlorate ... The 2007 and 2009 perchlorate contours are more complete due to more down-gradient groundwater sampling points, with the highest perchlorate concentrations of 146 ppb and 50 ppb, respectively, located at PZ-4 on the AU campus."

Kreeger Bldg. = 50 ppb in Nov. 2009 (pg. 27)

"Quarterly groundwater monitoring will be conducted during the next year to determine whether groundwater perchlorate concentrations change seasonally and whether any significant trends in perchlorate concentrations are associated with specific times of the year ... The temporary wells are specifically designed to pinpoint the location of a potential perchlorate source on the AU campus that requires further investigation. Sampling of these temporary wells may delineate a clear line between high and low perchlorate concentrations."
Todd Beckwith, USACE
Restoration Advisory Board Meeting
January 11, 2011

1st Peek at Dalecarlia Woods Will Dig up 700 Anomalies, 12 Trenches

During World War I, a sixty-two acre section of Dalecarlia Woods next to Washington DC's reservoir was the impact area (AOI 6) for Livens projectiles fired from the American University Experiment Station one mile to the east, as well as the location of a munitions burial pit (AOI 2) alongside a narrow gauge railway line that once extended there from AU.

North perimeter fence of federal property

Amid these steep wooded hills in coming weeks, the Corps of Engineers will begin an intrusive investigation of 700 single-point metallic anomalies and twelve possible munitions disposal trenches identified during the initial, 18-acre phase of their geophysical survey on the federal property.

North side of initial 18-acre intrusive investigation

Corps Begins Destroying WW I Munitions in Northwest DC

AP Photo

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to destroy a slew of World War I-era munitions uncovered during a cleanup of a northwest Washington neighborhood beginning next week, officials said Thursday. The Army Corps will use a detonation chamber near Sibley Memorial Hospital in the pricey Spring Valley neighborhood to dispose of about 100 munitions found buried in the yard of a home near American University, said project manager Todd Beckwith. The process begins next week and will cost about $500,000.
Brett Zonger
Associated Press
January 7, 2011

The main noise that will escape the site is the sound of each individual detonation, which Beckwith likened to a car's backfire lasting a fraction of a second 10 time a day ... [Spring Valley advisory neighborhood commissioner] Nan Wells said she still would have preferred to see the munitions taken out of Spring Valley to be destroyed. "I just think an abundance of caution is appropriate, and nothing is fail-safe that has people involved."
Brady Holt
Northwest Current
January 12, 2011

Munitions Destruction Delayed Again Until January 2011

Behind hospital vapor containment tent (right) awaits CDC

"We were planning to start the controlled detonation chamber operation this week and complete the effort before the holidays. Unfortunately, there was an unanticipated delay in the set up process. When the CDC team was preparing to transport the chamber from Aberdeen Proving Ground to Spring Valley, the hydraulics on the trailer broke ... The project team worked to get a second staging platform ready so the CDC system could be transferred onto it via a crane lift ... With this delay, we will not be able to start CDC operations until after the new year. The new planned start date is January 10."
Todd Beckwith

Spring Valley Project Manager
December 10, 2010

Army May Seek Court Order to Access "POI 2" on Fordham Road

"POI 2" is located behind this house on Fordham Road

USACE clarified that EPA legal assistance was requested to obtain access to a Fordham Road property where a potential disposal pit [Point of Interest 2] may be present ... The Fordham Road property is located adjacent to a Test Trench similar to the Test Trench on 52nd Court where an associated AUES-related disposal pit was recovered. This suggests that a significant public health threat is potentially present ... DDOE will determine whether property access at a 3700 block of Fordham Road property can potentially be obtained under a DC court order via the hazardous waste management act.
Partnering Meeting Minutes
October 26, 2010 (pg. 22)

Quarterly Sampling Begins in Hunt for Campus Perchlorate Source

The Army Corps of Engineers will conduct tests to determine if perchlorate in Spring Valley groundwater near Sibley Memorial Hospital comes from the same source as the perchlorate in the groundwater at AU’s campus ... Experts believe a former munitions pit on the South side of campus called Lot 18 is causing the high perchlorate levels in both locations ... Perchlorate, a dangerous chemical that can cause thyroid disorders, was used at AU during World War I to make chemical weapons.

The Kreeger Hall testing site has the highest concentration of perchlorate in Spring Valley ... The Army Corps will now sample groundwater from the area every three months because perchlorate levels in the groundwater change according to the seasons and the amount of precipitation, [project manager Dan] Noble said.
Mitch Ellmauer
The Eagle (November 15, 2010)

Utility Consults Army to Replace Water Mains in Spring Valley

A city initiative to replace aging water mains in the neighborhood of last year’s devastating fire on Chain Bridge Road ran headfirst last week into one of the facts of life in Spring Valley: buried munitions. Representatives from the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority told the area advisory neighborhood commission last week that in addition to Chain Bridge Road, portions of Glenbrook Road, Woodway Lane and Rockwood Parkway would be dug up in order to replace the water mains.

But the Army Corps of Engineers has told residents that sections of those roads cover potential munitions caches, commissioners said. “They have said they don’t want to disturb the site,” said commissioner Tom Smith ... According to a spokesperson for the District Department of the Environment, there is a slight possibility that chemical munitions could be found under the roadways.
Northwest Current
November 10, 2010 (pg. 1)