[CPEO-MEF] Army expands Spring Valley testing

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Army Engineers to Test All Spring Valley Sites 
Arsenic Search Expanded After Complaints 

By Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 15, 2001; Page B02 

The Army Corps of Engineers unveiled a plan last night to test every
property in Spring Valley for arsenic contamination, a proposal that
greatly expands the search for leftover toxins from World War I weapons
testing in the Northwest Washington neighborhood.

"Make no mistake, the U.S. is standing by its responsibility to clean up
what it finds," said Thomas C. Voltaggio, head of the Environmental
Protection Agency's Region III. More than 300 people attended the meeting.

The proposal, which drew favorable reviews from many residents, comes in
response to widespread dissatisfaction with the pace of Army testing
after elevated levels of arsenic were found in the soil at American
University and on nearby properties. Until now, Army officials have said
that testing every property would be costly and unnecessary.

But after hearing the discontent at a neighborhood meeting last month,
officials with the EPA and the D.C. Department of Health supported
expanded testing. The Army, after meetings with officials from those
agencies, agreed.

...

for the entire story, see
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6770-2001Mar14.html

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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