[CPEO-MEF] Navy heads cleanup of point across from academy

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Maryland
Navy heads cleanup of point across from academy
By JESSICA R. TOWHEY, Staff Writer
The Navy is spearheading an environmental cleanup at Greenbury Point
that will remove nearly 2,400 tons of soil contaminated by lead paint by
April.

The $1.2 million project across the Severn River from Annapolis will
begin in January when contractors begin removing dirt -- 200-foot
diameter circles, 6 inches deep -- from around the three standing radio
towers and the remains of seven demolished towers at the end of the
Naval Academy's nature preserve.

The project should not affect the towers' stability, according to
academy officials.

"This is good stewardship of the local environment," Cmdr. Bill Spann,
an academy spokesman, said in a written statement.

Three years ago, the Navy demolished 16 communication towers used to
transmit signals to Europe and American troops around the globe during
World War II. With the advent of satellite technology in the 1980s, the
towers had outlived their usefulness.

Several of the towers stretched 300 feet into the air, and they were
often used as navigational aides for ships coming in from the Chesapeake
Bay.

Over the years the Navy maintained them, though. But as new coats of
paint were applied, undercoats often chipped off, and the chips -- often
from lead paint -- were left in the soil.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/live/12_22-28/NAV

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