EPA orders Fort Meade cleanup

PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Army to move forward with the cleanup of hazardous waste at Fort George G. Meade.

Contaminants on 14 hazardous waste sites on the Maryland military base and an adjacent property include numerous solvents and heavy metals, explosives, arsenic and PCBs, the EPA said Monday in a news release.

Elevated levels of volatile organic compounds, pesticides and explosive compounds have been detected in aquifers and low levels of volatile organic compounds have been detected in residential wells located in Odenton, Md.

In addition, munitions have been found throughout the former range training areas of the base, including portions of the Little Patuxent River.

The adjacent property was transferred by the Army to the U.S. Department of Interior and is now part of the Patuxent Research Refuge.

The EPA said the Army has been working to address wastes at the site since 1998 when the Fort Meade installation was designated as a Superfund site.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.