Army Corps finds new WWI chemical site in DC yard

[Libertas1776]

Source: The Boston Globe

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has uncovered what could be a fourth major disposal area for World War I-era munitions and chemical weapons in the nation's capital. Digging was suspended April 8 as a precaution at the site in the pricey Spring Valley neighborhood near American University after workers pulled smoking glassware from the pit, project manager Dan Noble said Thursday.
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Workers also discovered a jar about three-quarters full of a dark liquid that turned out to be the chemical agent mustard. It was used during World War I as a weapon that caused blisters, breathing problems and vomiting.
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During World War I, the Army used the university as an experiment station to develop and test chemical weapons. Previously, there were three known sites where weapons and chemicals were buried.
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This is the fourth major dig for munitions and toxic agents over the past 16 years since the burial pits were discovered in the neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes. The current excavation began in 2007 at the house, which is owned by the federal government and located next to the South Korean ambassador's residence.
The cleanup project is one of the only places in a major city classified by the Army Corps as a "Formerly Used Defense Site."

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/04/16/army_crew_finds_new_wwi_chemical_in_dc_yard/

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Over ninety years after its end, and the War to End All Wars is still causing us grief. Certainly it isn't like the fields of Northern France or Belgium, but there are still active remnants from the Civil War that are a danger in parts of this country.