Army to conduct more groundwater and sediment contamination testing at Area B

Jul. 13—The U.S. Army plans to collect multiple samples at Area B at Fort Detrick beginning this month to test areas for levels of contamination of various substances.

The Restoration Advisory Board, which oversees Area B's remediation, heard updates on Wednesday from Kenneth Cunningham, a project manager from Aptim Federal Services, about the site's remedial investigation.

The Army will collect samples of surface water and sediment, nearby springs and seeps, porewater and the site's groundwater during the sampling events.

Area B, a 399-acre plot of land, was used by the Army in the mid-20th century as a test site for its biological warfare program. After former President Richard Nixon ended the program in 1969, scientists disposed of chemical, medical, and radiological material.

Army scientists have spent decades studying Area B's contamination and attempting to address it. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed Area B's groundwater on its National Priorities List.

Cunningham said the Army will conduct a series of ecological sample events and quarterly groundwater sample events.

The ecological sample events will analyze Area B's surface water and sediment, springs and seeps, and porewater, which is water contained in the pores between grains of sediment. These sample events will support "preparation of an updated focused baseline ecological risk assessment," Cunningham said.

The first ecological sample events are scheduled to take place Monday.

Cunningham also provided an overview of quarterly groundwater sample events for the next two years.

Joseph Gortva, chief of Fort Detrick's environmental division, said a part of the north section of Area B and another part of the south section have the most significant groundwater contamination compared to the rest of the site.

Wells in these two parts will be analyzed for volatile organic compounds, such as chloroform and trichloroethylene, throughout the two years.

The first event for the quarterly groundwater samplling is scheduled to begin the week of July 31.

Gortva said the foreseeable length of the remedial investigation will depend on the sampling results.

"If everything comes back in line to what we feel the nature and extent of the contamination is, we would be able to move forward ... and moving on to the next phase," Gortva said. "There's always the possibility that something could come up that [raises] more questions."

Jennifer Hahn, a community member on the board, said at the meeting that she feels community members need to know more about Area B, since it's less focused on at meetings compared to other spots under the board's purview.

"We don't know as much about this area. We haven't looked at this area as much, so the community members like me aren't as familiar with it except for what we hear at the meetings, which has been little to nothing," she said.