Hunt for Munitions at Pit 3 Moves onto Neighbor's Property

"Construction began on the South Extension [of the Emergency Containment Structure] and continues into September ... The South Extension’s construction is expected to take 6 weeks, and should be completed in mid September. The digging investigation inside the South Extension will be short; 1 - 2 weeks is anticipated. During this time the Shelter-in Place program will go into effect again for those residents and workers within 750 feet of the project area, Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m."
Spring Valley FUDS
Monthly Project Update
August 2008

Forum Focuses on Long-Term Health Effects of Buried Poisons

Left to right: K. Slowinski, C. Ion, B. Resnick & Camille Saum

At the third Friends of the Earth roundtable on the 15-year cleanup of World War I-era chemical weapons in northwest Washington DC, community activist Kent Slowinski reacts to a presentation by Dr. Beth Resnick summarizing the 2007 Johns Hopkins Public Health Scoping Study. As Global Green USA co-convener Cristian Ion looks on, a cameraman records the event for a forthcoming documentary entitled Bombs in Our Backyard, which exposes Spring Valley as the nation’s most affluent toxic dump.

Arsenic Contaminated Soil Near Hughes Hall to Be Removed

"For several years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been conducting environmental investigations and cleanup activities on and around the AU campus. This work will continue in the coming weeks as the Army Corps undertakes arsenic-containing soil cleanup activities just north of Hughes Hall ... The digging is expected to start in late July and be completed before fall semester begins."
Jorge Abud, Assist. Vice President, Facilities
American University
July 14, 2008

Getting Them Out of the Neighborhood is Top Priority

Photo Credit: Jacquelyn Martin -- AP

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, continues its work at Pit 3 … The types of items that are being recovered are exactly the types of items the USACE has planned for, specifically, old munitions. These items could present a future risk to the community if not removed — safely recovering these items and getting them out of the neighborhood during this operation is a top priority. “The day we dig an empty hole at Pit 3 will be a good day,” said [Project Manager Dan] Noble. “We will continue digging until we reach clean soil.”
The Corps’pondent (June 2008: pg. 3)

Army Cleanup Extends to AU Campus

  Public Safety Building

"The work planned for around the Public Safety Building will include investigating two areas in the front of the building where buried anomalies have been identified; excavating and removing buried debris in the rear of the property; and sampling and removing contaminated soil and associated debris (if present) around the utility trench to the east of the building ... This project will continue at least to the end of this year (2008)."


Neil Kerwin, President

American University

June 13, 2008


The Army Corps of Engineers resumes excavations today to recover chemicals buried in the area known as Lot 18, located on the South Side of campus behind the Public Safety, Financial Aid and Hamilton buildings. Last fall the Army Corps found a glass container containing the chemical agent Lewisite. Since then, the site has been closed pending stricter security measures as the site was reclassified as a "High Probability" area where more Lewisite may be found, according to the Army Corps … The Army Corps has been working on and around AU's campus since 2001 when arsenic was discovered in the soil of the intramural field and around the Child Development Center.
Keith F Shovlin

The Eagle 

June 21, 2004
 

Initial Arsenic Readings Called a "False Positive"

Officials reopened Fort Reno Park in Northwest Washington yesterday, saying recent extensive tests have found no unsafe levels of arsenic in the soil there. The 33-acre field, a popular site for sports and concerts in the Tenleytown neighborhood, was abruptly closed to the public May 14 after the U.S. Geological Survey said soil samples showed arsenic levels of as much as 1,100 parts per million -- about 25 times the limit of 43 parts per million set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But those test results turned out to be "a false positive," officials said yesterday.
Washington Post (May 29, 2000: pg. B-1)

Arsenic Levels Cause Indefinite Closure of Fort Reno Park

A 33-acre federal park in Northwest Washington was abruptly shut yesterday and will remain closed indefinitely after soil analysis found arsenic levels far above what the federal government considers safe ... Park Service spokesman Bill Line said in an interview that before agency officials were notified about the high arsenic levels, they "had no prior reason to suspect anything other than safe conditions existed in Fort Reno Park."
Washington Post
May 15, 2008: pg. B-1
 
The Partners discussed the Terry Slonecker/Rich Albright aerial photograph of high arsenic readings in the District of Columbia area and an article that recently appeared in the Examiner. The year 2000 photograph came from T. Slonecker's doctoral thesis and shows the northwest District of Columbia area and Spring Valley with some red spots indicating high arsenic readings. There are spots at Fort Reno and at Friendship Park. The statement by [Richard] Albright to the Examiner a couple of weeks ago said that toxic chemicals have spread.
Spring Valley FUDS
Partnering Meeting Minutes
November 27, 2007 (pg. 18)