ARLINGTON, Va. — Our environment matters at WUSA9 and recently we discovered a public notice regarding contaminants found at an Amazon construction site in Arlington, Virginia. So, we called the proper agencies to verify what is being done to make sure the site is safe.
Sources:
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- Amazon
- Patrick Troy, Sr. Project Manager with Sanborn, Head and Associates, Inc.
Amid all the construction in Crystal City for Amazon’s future HQ2 campus, there is some careful soil remediation underway. According to a public notice published in the Washington Post, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons or TPH was detected in soil samples at the Pen Place Development near 12th and South Eads Streets. The 11-acre site was tested up to 24 feet below the surface.
WUSA9 spoke with the land protection manager at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The manager said the site’s levels tested above 50 parts per million and the site was deemed as “non-contaminated.” That means it poses “no material risk” to construction workers, neighbors, or future residents of the buildings. In fact, he said the crude oil chemicals in Arlington soil are common and go back centuries. However, the levels are not harmful to the community.
Still, according to DEQ, Virginia code requires the carbon be removed from the soil of any construction site. The DEQ approved Amazon’s remediation plan which involves digging up the soil and transporting it to a soil recycling facility in Maryland. There, the contaminants will be removed for reuse.
We reached out to Amazon for comment and a spokesperson sent us a statement saying in part, “while no risk was found, we will be removing any contamination on this property, ensuring an environmentally-safe site for employees and community members alike to enjoy for years to come.”