Editing Fort Detrick (section)

==Environmental contamination==
Fort Detrick Area B is a 399-acre proving ground and was a disposal area for chemical, biological, and radiological material until 1970. In 2009, it was listed as a [[superfund site]] on the [[National Priorities List]] with four so-called "source areas": chemical waste disposal pits, a landfill, the Area B-Grid and the Area B-20 South burn area. There are 30 additional possible areas. Groundwater has been known to be contaminated with [[volatile organic compound]]s [[trichloroethylene]] (TCE) since 1992, as well as [[tetrachloroethene]], both onsite and offsite.<ref name=EPA/> Eight 55-gallon drums of TCE buried in Area B in 1968 are believed to be one source of the contamination.<ref name=BS /> Groundwater plume modeling is difficult due to underlying [[karst]] formations. No "Records of Decision" about how each site will be remediated have been signed by EPA and Army.<ref name=EPA>{{cite web|title=Fort Detrick Area B Groundwater|url=http://www.epa.gov/reg3hscd/npl/MDD985397249.htm|work=Mid-Atlantic Superfund| publisher=EPA| access-date=31 August 2015|date=7 January 2015}}</ref>

In 2012, the [[United States National Research Council]] published a report after reviewing two investigations of potential health hazards at Fort Detrick: a 2009 public health assessment conducted by the [[Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry]] and a cancer investigation in Frederick County by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Frederick County Health Department.<ref name=NRC>{{cite web|url=http://dels.nas.edu/Report/Review-Studies-Possible-Toxic/13375|author=National Research Council|title=Review of Studies of Possible Toxic Effects from Past Environmental Contamination at Fork Detrick|date=2012|location=Washington, DC|publisher=The National Academies Press|access-date=13 May 2014|archive-date=6 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106211349/http://dels.nas.edu/Report/Review-Studies-Possible-Toxic/13375|url-status=dead}}</ref> The report found neither study could show whether people were harmed by contaminated groundwater from Area B. It is unlikely that additional studies could establish a link, because no data on early exposures were collected and data cannot be obtained or reliably estimated now.<ref name=NRC />

In May 2014, a developer who had bought 92 acres near the Center for Biological Research sued the U.S. Army for negligence in its chemical disposal practices, which led to levels of TCE of up to 42 times the federal maximum contaminant level.<ref name=BS>{{cite news|last=Matthew Hay Brown|title=Developers file $37 million federal suit over Fort Detrick contamination|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-fort-detrick-lawsuit-20140509,0,5590239.story|access-date=13 May 2014|newspaper=Baltimore Sun|date=10 May 2014|archive-date=13 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513180452/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-fort-detrick-lawsuit-20140509,0,5590239.story|url-status=dead}}</ref> A U.S. attorney representing Fort Detrick argued in July 2014 that nonexistent EPA regulation at the time is an exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act and "protects the Army's waste disposal practices".<ref name=fred>{{cite news|author1=Sylvia Carignan|title=U.S. attorney requests dismissal of developer's case against Fort Detrick|url=http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/courts/u-s-attorney-requests-dismissal-of-developer-s-case-against/article_e08b3812-a5a8-5615-b4e3-c50ff5210d9b.html|access-date=2 August 2014|work=The Frederick News Post|date=1 August 2014}}</ref> The $37 million lawsuit was dismissed in January 2015.<ref name=fn815>{{cite news|author1=Sylvia Carignan|title=Kristen Renee Foundation leaders, local residents sue Fort Detrick for wrongful death and pain and suffering|url=http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/environment/kristen-renee-foundation-leaders-local-residents-sue-fort-detrick-for/article_fb7d3de7-9849-5117-9d3e-dddd7f00d5bd.html|access-date=30 August 2015|work=Frederick News-Post (MD)|date=20 August 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Ft Detrick Area B ECON310.pdf|thumb]]
After the Army denied claims of health problems in 106 Frederick families and individuals in February 2015, the residents filed a class action lawsuit, seeking $750 million for wrongful death and pain and suffering in August 2015.<ref name="fn815" />

The installation's [[Restoration Advisory Board]] has released a report on some of the findings in relation to the spillage of waste. The public Fort Detrick website provided a copy of the archive from the meeting of an environmental committee.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 June 2014|title=Fort Detrick Restoration Advisory Board - US Army Garrisons|url=http://www.detrick.army.mil/responsible/repository/asr16June2014.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 January 2017|access-date=20 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124184803/https://www.detrick.army.mil/responsible/repository/asr16June2014.pdf}}</ref>