[CPEO-MEF] WWI Chemicals Removed from DC Neighborhood

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@cpeo.org>]

WWI Chemicals Removed From Spring Valley Yard
--Army Unearths Mustard Gas, Variant

By Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 6, 2001; Page B01


Seven bottles containing dangerous World War I chemical agents have been 
excavated
from a home in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest Washington, Army 
officials
said yesterday.

Two of the bottles removed from the yard of the property on Glenbrook Road 
contained
mustard, a chemical gas that killed thousands of soldiers on the 
battlefields of
Europe during World War I. Five of the bottles contained lewisite, a more 
deadly
variant of mustard that was developed by scientists researching chemical 
gases in
Washington during the war.

The Army began excavating soil from the property on Glenbrook Road after 
extremely
high levels of arsenic were found in the soil. The excavation is part of a 
large-scale
cleanup of the residue of World War I chemical weapons testing based at 
nearby American
University.


For the complete story go to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24460-2001Jul5.html

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Aimee R. Houghton
Associate Director, CPEO
122 C Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC  20001-2109
tel: 202-662-1888; fax: 202-628-1825
Email: aimeeh@cpeo.org
www.cpeo.org
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