The EPA is taking over a massive cleanup effort at one of the most contaminated military sites of the Cold War. The agency announced in a Friday, Dec. 17, 2010 press release that it has signed an interagency agreement with the Department of Defense to remediate the Fort Detrick Area B Groundwater Superfund Site in Frederick, Md.

The agency taking charge could signal a shift in remedial plans for the site, with new technologies given the opportunity to stretch their legs against some common and challenging pollutants.

Although cleanup activities have been ongoing, the federal facility agreement will give the EPA oversight within an enforceable framework. The agreement also gives the EPA and the Army the framework for investigating new and evolving contamination issues at Area B.

The parcel of land known as Fort Detrick Area B is part of an active U.S. Army installation operated under the Army Medical Command. The site was used as a testing and disposal area for chemical, biological, and radiological material from the 1940s until 1970. Wastes disposed at the site released trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) into the groundwater, contaminating residential drinking water wells. There is the potential that the groundwater contamination could spread to affect the more densely populated areas in Frederick.

SOURCE: EPA press release