Huge Cache of MD + Lab Waste Found Under Public Safety Bldg.

Lab waste dug from under PSB foundation (pg. 14)

The objective of the Public Safety Building (PSB) project is to excavate the soil underneath the footprint of the former PSB, an area of approximately 30 x 60 feet.  Past investigative and removal efforts have been conducted around the former building.  At that time, it was determined that the Munitions debris (MD) likely continued underneath the building.  The Site-Wide Decision Document included a directive that, if American University were to demolish the building, USACE Baltimore would remove the foundation and slab and conduct excavations underneath the slab to depths required to ensure that all American University Experiment Station (AUES)-related debris has been removed from AU campus ... The small ceramic jug marked Mercury is similar to jugs found during previous excavations at the PSB.  The rest of the recovered laboratory items are broken pieces of glassware.  Occasionally, an intact bottle is found, but none of these bottles were stoppered or sealed ... MD recovered to date includes:
   - Opened Livens Mk1 incendiary projectile
    - Expended M2 hand grenade; UXO technicians found and identified 2 pieces that would have formed an M2 hand grenade
    - Projectile nose cones
    - A 75mm projectile; the 75mm projectile is the most common munition found at Spring Valley
    - Booster tube; a long booster tube, likely for a Livens projectile ... The booster would have a delayed explosive charge in it that would have allowed the Livens to open up on detonation and spread the contents around the target area.
    - Bomb fins; bomb fins have been found previously at the PSB
    - Nose cone-type fuze
    - Bomb assembly items
    - A 4-inch Stokes mortar nose; the AUES utilized both the 3-inch and 4-inch Stokes mortar.  Encountering a 4-inch Stokes mortar item is unusual in Spring Valley.
Spring Valley RAB
Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2020 (pgs. 6 - 9) 

MD dug from under PSB foundation (pg. 16)