Army Corps Tests Readiness in Drill with Local Emergency Responders

 Project Mgr. Brenda Barber briefs AU Pres. Neil Kerwin

The team was inspected by the Huntsville District to assess their readiness to begin work.  During the inspection, the teams ran various scenarios to train for the upcoming high probability operations.  The scenarios allow the teams to prepare for a wide variety of conditions and/or discoveries at the site, such as, a medical emergency, equipment failure, chemical detections, etc.  

Inside the ECS (Engineering Control Structure)

Also, USACE facilitated a Tabletop Exercise with the team and local emergency responders ... During the upcoming week, the teams will continue to train in preparation for high probability.  On Wednesday, September 4th at 4:05 pm, USACE will begin conducting the monthly test of the Shelter in Place notification system.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Glenbrook Road Weekly Update
August 30, 2013

Class-A protective gear

Spring Valley Stakeholders Dispute Conclusions of JHSPH Health Study

A long-awaited community health study has concluded that Spring Valley residents generally enjoy better health than the nation as a whole, but adds that slight upticks in the incidence of certain cancers could be related to arsenic exposure ... Nan Wells, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who has been active on the issue, said she has heard concerns about clusters of diseases among "people who lived on certain properties" where contaminants were buried.   Those families should be tracked, if possible, she said.  And there are still some homeowners who have not allowed the Army onto their properties, including one site that some believe contains a "significant burial pit" ...

 So out of all the thousands [41,000] of people, 865 responded," one audience member countered.  "Nobody got a mailing, nobody went door-to-door.  People without computers were left out, and many diseases were left out.  Isolated seniors who don't have computers wouldn't even know.  I don't think it gives a clear picture of Spring Valley." 

Elizabeth Wiener

Northwest Current 

July 31, 2013 (pg. 1)
  

For decades, Spring Valley residents were unknowingly living above buried chemical weapons, gardening in arsenic-contaminated soil and otherwise facing risks associated with haphazard disposal practices dating back to World War I.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has spent millions in the last 20 years on remediation for the community, but evidence suggests that for some residents the damage has been done.  A survey taken by this newspaper in 2004 found a host of rare health problems among Spring Valley residents, potentially attributable to the neighborhood's chemical contamination ... But a new community health study conducted by Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health has failed to scratch the surface.

Editorial

Northwest Current

August 7, 2013 (pg. 8)

Dr. Richard Albright Featured as Guest Writer on UXO News Site

UXOInfo.com welcomes UXO guest author Dr. Richard D. Albright, a local chemical weapons and ordnance expert who holds a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science in Environmental Health from George Washington University and Doctorate from Wayne State.  A former Army officer, he wrote a science bestseller, Cleanup of Chemical and Explosive Munitions, now in its second edition; as well as two more books on munitions and their constituents: Death of the Chesapeake and Poisoning the World's Women and Infants: The Story of Perchlorate ... 

 

A scuba diver since 1956, Dr. Albright met with the famed Jacques Cousteau on his many trips to the Great Lakes.  It was during these early diving experiences that Albright became aware of underwater ordnance issues ... UXOInfo.com is pleased to introduce Dr. Albright as a guest writer and look forward to a new series of fascinating articles based of his years of UXO experience.

UXOInfo.com

July 26, 2013

 Dr. Richard D. Albright

Johns Hopkins Releases Results from Spring Valley Health Study

The cancer analysis revealed two statistically significant findings; lymphoma incidence rate differences between the study areas and the lung and bronchus mortality rate trend in the Spring Valley area.  Lymphoma incidence in the 2005 - 2009 period was higher in the Spring Valley area than in the Chevy Chase area ... Lung and bronchus mortality rates were lower in both study areas than the US on average; however, the increasing rate trends for lung and bronchus are concerning ...  

Given the significant limitations resulting from lack of exposure data, disease latency, and time lag (approaching 100 years since AUES activities) it is not possible to make a definitive determination of cause and effect for health outcomes observed in surveillance data or reported by residents ... The findings of increasing cancer incidence and mortality trends running counter to US trends raise a general public health concern for both Spring Valley and Chevy Chase areas.

Summary Report

Follow-Up on Spring Valley Health Study

July 3013 (pgs. 12 - 13)

Worker Claims Munition Debris Also Buried Under 4835 Glenbrook

 4835 Glenbrook Road

The Army Corps received a transcript of a March 2013 interview with a construction worker who helped build the houses at 4825 and 4835 Glenbrook Road in 1992.  At the July 9th RAB meeting, project manager Dan Noble reported that the worker saw World War I munitions debris buried underneath both houses (1:32), Brandt Construction tried to move excess soil from this location to a third Spring Valley property but it was refused due to the odor, and the Corps turned the transcript over to its contractor [Watermark, Inc.] who is conducting a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) investigation.

Noble said that names are mentioned in the transcript (2:39) and the investigator will try to track them down.  Noble admitted that only a single boring in the center of the basement was ever done by the Corps to investigate underneath 4835 Glenbrook Road (10:43). 

Dan Noble, USACE
Spring Valley RAB Meeting 

July 9, 2013 [audio recording]

Cleanup Site Field Work Continues Regardless of Impending Furlough

Engineering Control Structure (ECS) being built

In preparation for the high probability excavation work, the site construction team began building the Engineering Control Structure (ECS).  The construction of the tent will continue into July ... Although the high probability operations have been delayed due to the upcoming furlough, the site crew will continue to prepare the site so we are ready to begin high probability operations after the furlough ends.  

 

Chemical Agent Filtration System (CAFS)

It is important to note that field work will not halt at the site.  Upcoming site work will include completing the installation of the ECS, installing the remaining engineering controls, performing on-site training for the high probability excavation teams, and performing the pre-operational surveys and testing. 
Spring Valley FUDS
Project Update
June 2013

Sequester Delays Glenbrook Road High Probability Work Until Fall

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, has decided to modify the work schedule for high probability operations at 4825 Glenbrook Road ... The furlough will restrict the team to four 8-hour work days per week and overtime compensation will not be allowed, which restricts available work hours from our current schedule of 60 hours per week down to 32 hours per week ... Even the slightest potential that response capabilities might be degraded under furlough conditions led to the decision to delay high probability intrusive activities at the site.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Press Release
June 17, 2013

Recently, the Department of Defense published its furlough implementation guidance that directs the Military Departments to start furloughing their civilian work force.  The furlough period will begin the week of July 8 and continue for 11 weeks ... Given this guidance, COL J. Richard Jordan, III, Commander and District Engineer at the Baltimore District has made the decision to delay the start of the high probability work at 4825 Glenbrook Road during the proposed Department of Defense furlough period which is scheduled to end on September 21, 2013 ... Should the period of furloughs be shortened, we will quickly re-assess the schedule and begin work as soon as possible. 
Brenda Barber, Project Manager
Glenbrook Road Update
June 17, 2013