Fort Detrick
FAQs

Fort Detrick is:

Relevant...
A national asset, proudly protecting the nation and supporting local economy

Respectful...
People Count... customers and employees working together for service excellence

Responsible...
Conserving resources, a recognized steward of the environment

Ready...
Sustainable planning, preparing for tomorrow's challenges

For information on Fort Detrick please click here.

• Conserving resources, a recognized steward of the environment
• Sharing our successes and identifying opportunities to grow
• Helping to teach our children
• Embracing the past; preserving our history
• Customers and Employees report performance and effectiveness of service
• Safety-first, last, and all the time

• U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick has been recognized as one of the Top 1% of over 7 million workplaces in the Nation according to OSHA
• The first U.S. Army Garrison recognized by OSHA as a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) site
• VPP is OSHA's official recognition for exemplary occupational safety and health management system
• Open, transparent environment to communicate safety objectives
• Empowerment of workforce to direct change
• Reduced Lost Work Days from accidents by 60 days annually (75% improvement)
• Improved employee and customer satisfaction
• Used program as a model for innovation in other areas on the installation
• Safety-first, last, and all the time

Fort Detrick's Area B is located directly west of the main Fort Detrick property in Frederick Md.

The Area B is one of three parcels of land in Frederick County maintained by Fort Detrick and occupies 399 acres that are used for a variety of activities including an active certified municipal landfill. The facility is maintained by Fort Detrick and regulated by the Maryland Department of the Environment and the EPA to meet all mandated local, state, and federal requirements of a municipal landfill facility.

In the Summer and Fall of 1992, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) conducted a residential well survey around Area B followed by sampling of all identified residential wells. TCE and a suite of other volatile organic compounds (VOC) were detected in residential wells located to the southeast of Area B. Samples from four residential wells were found to contain TCE slightly above regulatory levels. Those residents were either connected to the public water system or provided bottled water until connectivity could take place. Due to the relatively low levels of contamination encountered historically and the nature of the karst aquifer beneath the facility, there was no major effort by the Army to address groundwater remediation at that time. Monitoring of both ground and surface water during 1999 indicated that contaminant levels dropped significantly from the high levels initially found in the 1997-1998 field phase of the Remedial Investigation. Contaminant "spikes" of this nature are not unusual in karst aquifer systems. Consequently, Fort Detrick continued an extensive monitoring program while remedial alternatives were further evaluated.

TCE and PCE are what are known as chlorinated solvents and are used commonly throughout everyday industries that average citizens are exposed to in some way or another. Harmless, trace elements of these solvents are found in nearly every home due to:

• Painting
• Dry cleaning clothes
• Cleaners
• Installation of new carpet

Tetrachlorothene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) contaminants can be biodegraded by naturally occurring bacteria. As PCE naturally degrades, it initially turns into TCE which could be confused as increased contamination.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a nonflammable, colorless liquid. It is used mainly as a solvent to remove grease from metal parts, but it is also an ingredient in adhesives, paint removers, typewriter correction fluids, and spot removers.

Perchloroethylene (Tetrachloroethylene or PCE) is a manufactured chemical that is widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics and for metal-degreasing. It is also used to make other chemicals and is used in some consumer products.

Clean-up activities have been cleared to a point that the primary regulatory and oversight agency for these types of issues, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has publicly reported that the site to poses no public health risk. Fort Detrick, the EPA, and the Maryland Department of the Environment will continue with monitoring and further testing of the site and surrounding areas.

Fort Detrick has placed all of its documentation and published reports on the Area B Clean up page

The National Priorities List (NPL) is the list of hazardous waste sites eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on the NPL. Fort Detrick completed the majority of the cleanup prior to addition to the NPL. There will be limited benefit to inclusion at this point. Fort Detrick is working with the EPA on finalizing a work plan ahead of schedule to complete this project.

Fort Detrick maintains an open dialog with the surrounding community concerning the status of the clean-up program through a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB). The RAB serves as a forum for the early and continued exchange of restoration related information among the community, installation, and regulatory agencies. RABs allow the public to advise the Army and regulators of the community's desired outcome for the restoration program. Members of RAB included local government, lay community members, community members with knowledge of environmental regulations and public concerns. More information is available on our RAB page.

The RAB meets on a quarterly basis, please contact the Fort Detrick Public Affairs Office, 301-619-2018 for information about the next scheduled RAB meeting.

If you have any health concerns please contact the Frederick County Health Department at (301) 600-1029

Fort Detrick has been a leader in health research for more than 40 years. Fort Detrick's role is critical in developing bandages, prosthetics, and medicine to protect Service Members who are often deployed to foreign environments as well as working on challenges such as malaria, flu, cancer, and HIV. Fort Detrick is part of a scientific center of excellence that develops products to reduce both naturally occurring and manmade threats to health of all citizens. For more information please visit the National Interagency Biodefense Campus web pages. The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) is the Army's principle disease research institute.

Please frequent our public web pages for upcoming events, meetings and activities happening either in the community or on the installation. Many events on the installation are open to the public.

Periodically groups are invited to come and tour Fort Detrick. We also host public town halls, support local events such as collegiate basketball that is open to the public. Many facilities such as the pool and gym are restricted to use by Service Members and their Families to foster their comprehensive fitness. Please check this website, local newspapers and media outlets for advertisements. Also, if you are part of a group looking to tour Fort Detrick please contact the Public Affairs Office at (301) 619-2018 for more information.

See our Recycle page.

Fort Detrick is a U.S. Army facility and as such fall under Army regulations, however, several other agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and several other local agencies oversee various programs underway on the installation.

The municipal landfill on Fort Detrick's Area B is still active as a certified municipal waste landfill facility. The landfill is no different than the one operated by Frederick County to handle regular municipal waste. In fact the landfill is held to the same stringent requirements and regulated by the same people as the Frederick County Municipal landfill. Fort Detrick takes the additional steps of separating the waste, recycling nearly 50%, and reducing the waste to ash allowing for the landfill to only have inert materials that will allow Fort Detrick to remain a closed-loop system almost indefinitely. Inert waste is waste materials that do not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations, and do not endanger the quality of any surface water or groundwater.

A number of sources can be utilized for water testing. If a health concern is present please contact the Frederick County Health Department and for those residents on public water, please contact the Frederick County Water and Sewer Department for assistance. Based on the common use of solvents in paint and dry cleaning, air or "vapor" testing is often not done as there is not a simple indoor test. This type of testing is not easy and may require drilling into a home foundation to test the soil underneath a home.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC.) Fort Detrick is a leader in LEED.

Some of our "green" efforts include:
-State-of-the-art construction and design
-Energy-efficient consideration throughout the project
-Planning and Certifying LEED Silver for new construction
-Retrofitting eligible buildings for LEED-EB certification
-Realigning roads for improved trafficability

We consider a multitude of technologies to achieve high levels of efficiency for our facilities, new and old including:
-Low Impact Development
-Low flow water fixtures
-Occupancy Sensors
-LED Lights
-High Efficiency HVAC
-Building Energy Automation
-Options: Solar on Roofs Vegetated roofs
-Proactive studies on environmental considerations

An Environmental Impact Statement is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 1969. Fort Detrick considers NEPA for all projects.

Purpose of an EIS/EA:
Environment Impact Statements (EIS) and Environmental Assessments (EA) consider the following:
-Environmental impacts of a proposed action or actions
-They evaluate alternative actions
-Disclose actions/impacts to the public
-Integrate public participation into the decision making process

The overall NEPA process includes the following:

EIS: An Environmental Impact Statement is a proactive, thorough, and rigorous process of evaluation, and is the most in-depth evaluation of a project.
Example: Comprehensive review of new Biosecurity Laboratory (BSL) project as it integrates with entire installation

EA:An Environment Assessment (EA), is also proactive, thorough, comprehensive, but not as rigorous as an EIS, the scope of an EA is for projects of 5 acres or more.

A Record of Environmental Consideration, also a proactive, coordinated, evaluation with minimal impact. These are often performed when a project deviates from the Master Plan, or as an addendum to an EA.

What you are seeing is the historic Nallin Farm Springhouse and Bank Barn. Nallin Farm is a historically registered farmhouse dating back to roughly 1835. Its significance is its association with typical agricultural practices in Frederick County from roughly 1795 through 1943. Fort Detrick takes great pride in our preservation activities regarding these structures and maintains them as an educational resource to for the community. Nallin Farmhouse was placed on the National Historical Registry in 1974 and the Bank Barn was added to the registry in 1977.

Please see our Employment page.

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