Residents concerned about noxious odor near former Walter Reed hospital

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - People who live in the area near the former site of Walter Reed National Medical Center in Northwest Washington are concerned about their health due to an overwhelming odor.

A community meeting held Monday at D.C. International School, one of two public charter schools on the property, was heated.

Dozens of residents turned out -- complaining the noxious smell seems to come from the direction of the construction site at the old Walter Reed campus in Northwest.

DC Fire and EMS has responded to a number of 911 calls and says firefighters confirm the smell but so far air quality tests haven't found anything dangerous.

One of the developers, The Parks DC, which is planning to build housing and retail space, has been investigating but says it's not sure the smell is even coming from the old Walter Reed campus.

Residents say, either way, they need answers.

Some have been doing their own research, even claiming to have tracked down classified documents about what was stored in the buildings and soil.

Tracene Hawkins, who lives on 13th Place asked, "Why haven't you all shut everything down to find out what's going on?"

Randall Clarke, director of Walter Reed LRA says the Army conducted an environmental study of the entire campus before any demolition began looking for dangerous elements and it's believed to be safe.

Richard Jackson, spokesman for the DC Department Of Energy and Environment told the crowd, "My guys were here. We're still gonna be here. And, we're just trying to narrow down where potentially the odor could be, but we're at the point now, we're just looking."