![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
| Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water | Frederick, Maryland | |
| Frederick County |
Site Location:
The Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water site is located on the Fort Detrick military installation and is within the city limits of Frederick, Maryland.
Site History:
The Fort Detrick Area B Ground Water site is part of an active U.S. Army installation operated under the Army Medical Command. Area B was used as a disposal area for chemical, biological, and radiological material from the 1940s until 1970 and has been the primary location of waste management activities for Fort Detrick. An active municipal landfill is located onsite and formerly Area B was used to store explosives and as a waste disposal/test area for research activities.
Site Contamination/Contaminants:
The contaminants of concern are trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) in ground water.
Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment:
Waste disposed in Area B released TCE and PCE to ground water, contaminating residential drinking water wells above EPA's Safe Drinking Water Act maximum contaminant levels. Due to the karst geology underlying the site, the contaminated ground water plume potentially has traveled beyond the installation boundaries and may affect future drinking water resources in the Frederick area. The area surrounding Area B is residential and densely populated.
Response Activities (to date):
The majority of residential drinking water wells have been connected to public water supplies. Fort Detrick provides bottled water to the remaining five residential wells affected by Area B. In June 2004, the Army removed contaminated soil, chemical containers, compressed gas cylinders, and laboratory waste in Area B.
Need for NPL Listing:
The State of Maryland referred the site to EPA because a long-term, comprehensive solution is needed to protect the remaining private drinking water wells in the area and future drinking water resources. Other federal and state cleanup programs and enforcement mechanisms were evaluated. NPL listing provides the best approach to investigate and address all contamination sources to ground water that pose a threat human health and the environment. EPA received a letter of support for placing this site on the NPL from the state.
[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent FR notices.]
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 ATSDR - ToxFAQs (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp) or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.