The Army Corps of Engineers discovered nine “munitions-related items and debris” at a remediation work site on the south side of campus near Fletcher Gate on Tuesday, according to an email sent by American University CFO, Vice President and Treasurer Bronté Burleigh-Jones.
The objects pose “no known threat to campus safety” and the Corps are coordinating with the D.C. fire department regarding methods to “safely remove the items.”
Burleigh-Jones wrote that the work is currently contained within the existing construction zone and there are “no changes to campus activity at this time.”
Fire department vehicles were parked in the site’s vicinity “in support of the assessment,” she wrote.
The area of the discovery was once the site of AU’s Public Safety building, which was demolished in 2017. Efforts to sample, test and replace potentially contaminated soil throughout the Spring Valley area, including parts of AU’s campus, have been ongoing for decades as part of the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site cleanup project. The project is a result of the U.S. Army’s chemical weapons testing on AU’s campus during World War I.
The Corps paused remediation work at another site nearby campus at 4825 Glenbrook Road NW in 2017, after workers reported potential symptoms of chemical exposure. Cleanup on the site was completed in 2020.
Additional updates will be provided as the administration receives further information from the Corps, Burleigh-Jones wrote.
This article was edited by Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
