Munitions debris found near American University, officials say
WASHINGTON - The Army Corps of Engineers recovered nine munitions-related items at American University on Tuesday, according to university CFO Bronté Burleigh-Jones.
Authorities discovered the items at a remediation work site near Fletcher Gate on the south side of campus.
The scene was cleared and the debris posed no threat to campus, according to the Army Corps, which received support from DC Fire and EMS.
The area surrounding American University has a history of munition debris being found.
READ MORE: Former DC military toxic waste site on the market for nearly $1.3 million
During World War I, American University set up an American University experiment station where scientists and soldiers were developing weapons for chemical warfare, according to Dan Noble, USACE Project Manager for the former defense site in Spring Valley. When the war ended, those items were dumped and buried in the surrounding area.
A previous FOX 5 report said the findings included an uncapped glass bottle that contained remnants of mustard gas inside. FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick won an Emmy for her coverage of the toxic site clean-up and the impact it had on several Northwest D.C. residents in the early 2000s.
Her reporting showed that the military members responsible for discarding the toxic waste referred to the area as "Death Valley" and called a certain pit near what is now Glenbrook Road, "Hades."
When the Glenbrook Rd. property clean-up was completed, the USACOE said it recovered or remediated:
- 556 munition items (23 of them filled with chemical agents)
- 2,139 pounds of laboratory debris
- 53 intact and sealed glass containers of chemical agent
- 7,500 tons of contaminated soil, all close to occupied private properties, a major university campus, and public streets
The USACE had worked on cleaning the site for two decades, and marked the cleanup complete in 2021.