Workers in Fort Detrick’s Area B this week noticed an odor coming from a monitoring well they were installing, the military base’s public affairs office said Saturday.
The drilling was being done Wednesday in an area contaminated with trichloroethylene and cerchloroethylene, chemicals commonly used in cleaning and degreasing, according to a news release from the office.
The chemicals were found to be leaking from a Detrick landfill at Area B in 1992. Wells affected at houses around the base were connected to a public water supply when the leak was discovered.
Such vapors are not unusual during environmental investigations, the release stated.
Concentrations were low, the odor was not detected downwind and it was found only within 10 feet of the drill site.
Water samples were taken to identify the source of the odor and air monitoring tests found no risk to the surrounding area.
The Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were consulted about the odor, the release stated.
Results of additional tests will be made available to the public as they return from the testing facilities.
The drilling, part of an environmental investigation into groundwater contamination, was being done in the west section of Area B near an area where contaminated soil and containers were removed in 2004.
As a precaution, the release stated, workers at this drill site will wear additional protective equipment including respirators.
