A chemical warfare agent and its breakdown products were identified after analysis of two containers found Jan. 9 during an excavation dig at Lot 18, a portion of land that includes AU property, according to the Spring Valley Partners' press release.
The two containers were sealed, and no one was harmed in the excavation, analysis and transportation of the containers and no harm was posed to the public. The Lot 18 excavation site is under strict engineering controls with highly trained personnel exercising safety measures, according to the press release.
Lot 18 is comprised of local property AU owns, including some residential plots, according to Shawn Walleck, spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District. The property encompasses the Financial Aid and Public Safety buildings, The Eagle previously reported.
While the Army Corps manages the site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the D.C. Department of Health are involved in making decisions about the cleanup because of its local and environmental effects, Walleck said.
"It's a partnership because of the different pieces of the puzzle," Walleck said.
Alma Gates, vice-chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D, which comprises Lot 18, said she feels the Army Corps is making every effort to clean up the site.
"I think the Army has responded extraordinarily well to the pressures being put on them by American University," Gates said.
Lot 18 has become a priority for the Army Corps because AU was able to effectively lobby the government for a quick cleanup, Gates said. However, this may have come at the expense of other cleanup sites across the country.
"I think that other cleanup sites may have been shortchanged," Gates said.
Walleck said there is still more to be done in Spring Valley after the Lot 18 cleanup concludes. A groundwater study was recently conducted in the area by the partnership, showing that there are some contaminants in local groundwater. However, the drinking water supply is not affected by this because it comes from the Potomac River, he said.
The Army Corps groundwater findings indicate that slightly elevated levels of perchlorate, a material used in solid propellant for rockets, missiles and fireworks, were found in three wells located off campus, according to a Feb. 21 memorandum from Jorge Abud, assistant vice president of facilities and administration.
The Spring Valley excavation site was known as the AU Experiment Station during World War I, The Eagle previously reported. Chemical weapons, such as mustard gas, were researched and tested at the site. At the time, the Spring Valley area included several family-owned farms and AU's campus.
Mustard exposure would have caused minimal effects in those handling the agent even if the bottles had been broken, Walleck said. Over time, pure mustard breaks down into various chemical compounds, consequently becoming less potent.
There are many factors that contribute to the results of mustard exposure, Walleck said. If 55 milliliters of pure mustard were released under ideal atmospheric conditions, a person would have to be within one meter of the spill to experience any noticeable effects, according to the press release. The concentration of mustard in the containers was about three million times less than the concentration of pure mustard.
