Sgt. Maurer WMD Pit Discovered Next to Glenbrook Road House

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has unearthed three broken glass jugs in Spring Valley that might have come from the long-sought Sgt. Maurer burial pit, according to a D.C. Deparment of the Environment official. The pit is believed to hold more than 20 containers of mustard agent or other chemical weapons materiel. The jugs were found Monday near the house a 4825 Glenbrook Road, indicating that the pit might be beneath or near the home's foundation.
Ian Thomas
Northwest Current (January 27, 2010: pg. 1)

“We have always said that attempting to name a pit the 'Sgt. Maurer pit' is a difficult task,” [Army Corps spokesman Clem Gaines] added. “It could be Pit 1, 2 or 3, or it could be a pit that over the years has been demolished by all the development in the Glenbrook Road area” ... [District Department of the Environment specialist Dr. Richard] Albright conveyed his sympathies to AU, which volunteered its campus to be used as an experimental station for the Army’s Chemical Corps during World War I. “They tried to do the patriotic thing in 1917, and now I’m sure they’re still ruing that decision."
Christopher Cottrell
The Eagle (January 31, 2010: pg. 1)

75mm Round Found Under Front Entrance of Public Safety Building

Courtesy of USACE

The Army Corps of Engineers unearthed more munitions debris next to the Public Safety building during this winter break. On Jan. 4, workers found a single 75mm round buried four feet underneath a concrete slab that they had removed in front of the building’s lower entrance ... Kent Slowinski, a community activist and former Restoration Advisory Board member, said recent work conducted by the Army Corps indicates a likelihood that the debris field around the Public Safety building extends underneath the building, because debris from the AU Experimental Station has been found behind and in front of it ... David Taylor [President Neil Kerwin’s chief of staff] confirmed that the operation is “winding down,” but that debris collection is ongoing.
Christopher Cottrell
The Eagle
January 21, 2010

Army Chasing Perchlorate Groundwater Plume Across University Campus

New monitoring wells are upgradient of Kreeger Hall contamination

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued its groundwater study in Spring Valley this fall, which included the installation of four new groundwater monitoring wells and the sampling of existing monitoring wells, as well as, surface water locations ... Of the four newly installed wells, three were placed on the American University property to help better understand the source of the perchlorate detections in the area, and to characterize the nature and extent of the perchlorate groundwater plume.
The Corps'pondent
December 2009 (pg. 3)

146 ppb perchlorate in groundwater 10 yds north of Kreeger Hall

These wells will assist with the investigation to locate the source and migration of a possible perchlorate plume located underneath the southeast portion of the AU campus. Current shallow well data indicates a potential plume of perchlorate migrating west and could discharge to East Creek ... To date, the highest perchlorate level detected in the groundwater study area is 146 ppb, which is located on the AU campus [next to Kreeger Hall] PZ 4. Several of the shallow groundwater wells have revealed elevated perchlorate levels scattered thoughout the southwestern part of the AU campus and Sibley Hospital. Three additional wells, located upgradient of the well with the highest perchlorate reading, PZ 4, are proposed to determine the extent and levels of perchlorate contamination.
Partnering Meeting Minutes
April 29 - 30, 2008 (pg. 3)