|
WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. Councilmembers David Catania (At-Large) and Kathy Patterson (Ward 3) secured $250,000 to study the impact a World War I munitions dump might have on the health of residents of the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. This examination will build upon prior soil tests by the District and Federal governments to determine if area residents have suffered significant ill-health as a result of the historic stockpile.
Catania said, "We already know land in Spring Valley is contaminated with lead and arsenic. With this money, the Department of Health will expand its investigation to provide a better understanding as to how residents' health may have been compromised." The Spring Valley neighborhood consists of approximately 661 acres in the northwest section of Washington, D.C. During the World War I era, the U.S. Government used the site for research and testing of chemical agents, equipment and munitions. Today, Spring Valley encompasses approximately 1,200 private homes, including several embassies and foreign properties, as well as the American University and Wesley Seminary. In January 1993, a contractor digging a utility trench in Spring Valley uncovered buried ordnance. Once notified, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) launched Operation Safe Removal, extracting some 141 ordnance items including suspected chemical munitions containing mustard gas and fuming sulfuric acid. Environmental impact studies have since concluded that at least 19 lots showed elevated soil arsenic levels. Councilmembers Catania and Patterson successfully persuaded their colleagues and the Mayor to include $250,000 for a study of the health-related impact of the soil contamination in the "2005 Operating Cash Reserve Allocation Act". That measure allocates $35,000,000 from the operating cash reserve to specific activities in the current Fiscal Year. Initial arsenic testing showed low levels of exposure not expected to cause health problems. |
