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NPL Site Narrative for Brandywine DRMO
BRANDYWINE DRMO
Brandywine, Maryland
Federal Register Notice: May 10, 1999Conditions at Proposal (July 1998): The Brandywine Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) site is an inactive U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) facility that occupies approximately 8 acres of land. The U.S. Navy operated the site as a storage yard from an unknown date until 1955, when it was transferred to the U.S. Air Force. In 1973, the Defense Supply Agency (DSA) assumed control of the site, and the Defense Property Disposal Organization (DPDO) received a permit from Andrews Air Force Base (AAFB) to use the property. The Brandywine DRMO site is located in southern Prince George's County, Maryland, about 8 miles south-southeast of AAFB. The site lies within the Potomac River Basin.
From approximately 1955 until 1988, the DRMO site was used principally as a storage area for surplus electrical equipment and other materials and for storage of hazardous wastes. The site was used by many different DoD operations, including AAFB, Bolling Air Force Base, the Washington Naval Yard, the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)-Indian Head, and White Oak Laboratory (now known as NSWC-White Oak).
Two sources located at the DRMO site are evaluated in the documentation record: soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and semivolatile organic compounds and an unallocated source (ground water plume) that resulted from the management of wastes, particularly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), on site in tanks, drums, warehouses, aboveground storage tanks, and underground storage tanks. A transformer storage area also was located in the eastern portion of the site. Hazardous wastes were stored directly on the ground surface throughout the site. The remains of burn pits are located on site.
Observed releases of VOCs to ground water and PCBs to surface water (wetlands) are documented. The surface water migration pathway for the DRMO site includes wetlands located immediately downgradient (to the north and west) of DRMO property, Timothy Branch, and Mattawoman Creek. Wetlands are located along Timothy Branch and Mattawoman Creek for their entire lengths within the 15-mile target distance limit. The State of Maryland has designated Mattawoman Creek and its 100-year flood plain an area of critical concern under the Coastal Zone Management Act; the area is a migratory corridor for anadromous species of fish. The State of Maryland has designated all stretches of Timothy Branch Creek and Mattawoman Creek Class I waters -- that is, waters allowing contact recreation and the propagation of fish and other aquatic life and wildlife. Mattawoman Creek downstream of the site is a fishery. No threatened or endangered species are associated with the surface water pathway downstream of the DRMO site.
Status (May 1999): EPA and the Maryland Department of the Environment continue to work with the U.S. Air Force to investigate and clean up the site.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.