“Spring Valley is the country’s first formerly used defense site with chemical weapons in a residential neighborhood”

Are there any others? Only in DC. Figures.

Oh, also? The developer who renamed it the Spring Valley (it was known as the Death Valley) is the only one who got a settlement out of the military. So the developer got paid twice, the concerned buyers not so much.

Anonymous wrote:This is really wild. I also have intelligent and discerning friends who moved there about 5 years ago, and Im sure they don't know.

Everyone who makes an accepted offer on a home in SV is given a giant binder of disclosures to read related to this issue.

This is a really fun and balanced list if you’re considering this area. It does state:

*Today, Spring Valley is the country’s first formerly used defense site with chemical weapons in a residential neighborhood,* according to Washingtonian.

https://dcist.com/story/19/01/11/10-facts-you-may-not-know-about-spring-valley/

You either want to know and care, want to know and don’t care or don’t want to know and don’t care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t live there. However, I would guess that with all the testing and remediation efforts, that this area is as safe as anywhere else in the DMV. Who knows what could be lurking in other neighborhoods? At least in Spring Valley they know. That’s my take.

No way. It's just how much do you care. Politically it's the greatest concentration of GOP in DC. They care a bit less about the environment.

Hardly. It's as liberal as it gets

Obviously it’s relative. But look it up; 2-3x for Trump than the neighboring ANCs.

That’s still only 15 percent of voters. The vast majority of people are liberal. Plus, there would even be people within that 15 percent who cared about environmental issues in their own backyard; likewise there would be liberal voters who are unconcerned. I’m not sure that your point is a good one.

I think it’s about 9%. Don’t know, but definitely less worry about the environmental stuff among the GOP voters.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You would have to assume that the primary goal of the government or the military (UCASE is doing the clean up) is clean, safe and healthy environment for all the citizens and workers. I’ll let that sit. Google military base housing, google any recent contamination site. I’ll wait.

My assumption would be that the federal government can’t afford to buy all of the contaminated land, so therefore they have to find a way to say it’s safe. My assumption would be that they started with that premise. I don’t need to google anything to make that assumption.

That’s quite a smart assumption. I remember being perplexed how it was that only 1 family ever won a lawsuit. And there were a number. I think that they won but others did not had to do with the military immunity and some special clause they had with the developer. Why did they have it? Were they worried about purchasing there? Not clear.

I think I read AU had to close a building up and redo a playground but it took a lot to get to that point.

Anyway the people running the blog upthread are former AU folks and they run tours where they’ll walk you through what they know. I’ve been meaning to do it for years. For a bit of ghoulish humor, maybe a special spooky Halloween tour?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t live there. However, I would guess that with all the testing and remediation efforts, that this area is as safe as anywhere else in the DMV. Who knows what could be lurking in other neighborhoods? At least in Spring Valley they know. That’s my take.

No way. It's just how much do you care. Politically it's the greatest concentration of GOP in DC. They care a bit less about the environment.

Hardly. It's as liberal as it gets

Obviously it’s relative. But look it up; 2-3x for Trump than the neighboring ANCs.

That’s still only 15 percent of voters. The vast majority of people are liberal. Plus, there would even be people within that 15 percent who cared about environmental issues in their own backyard; likewise there would be liberal voters who are unconcerned. I’m not sure that your point is a good one.

Anonymous wrote:This is really wild. I also have intelligent and discerning friends who moved there about 5 years ago, and Im sure they don't know.

I thought they had to give you a house report at closing; essentially something that says how many “anomalies” were found and how addressed. Mostly it says yes there are anomalies but on balance not worth digging it all up probably so have planted some ferns. Unless it’s a house where the owners wouldn’t let UCASE in? I don’t know for sure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. To explain why, the HHS has an article about how vapors and particles make it into the homes from the soil and groundwater. They also make if it on the wind, shoes, through stack effect, So, no, you can’t just close the door on the contaminants.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692377/

I would be surprised if this area would be redeveloped today. But at the time when this was “discovered” again, developer had finished redeveloping and rebranding the Death Valley into the Spring Valley and people had been living there for 50 years.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692377/

Not a scientist, but if the stuff is going into the groundwater (which given how much clay we have in the area, that's scary), aren't we all at risk?

I have a very close family friend who lived for decades in SV in a gorgeous house. What many of us would say is a dream house. My sibling and I even stayed at her house while working low-paying jobs/house-sitting. She has a lifelong health condition. I have no idea if it is connected to SV but, it and the many articles written about it is unsettling.

Depends what you mean. From drinking water, yes. They found PFAS too in the Delacarlia area. So filtering is a good idea.

From under the houses, no. The way the ground slopes and where there’s groundwater, it’s the Spring Valley and some lower lying areas from Loughborough down and towards the river/Sibley/Delacarlia. That’s some portion of the Palisades?

This is really wild. I also have intelligent and discerning friends who moved there about 5 years ago, and Im sure they don't know.

Case in point — 2004 article:

“The Current’s report suggests the chemicals could have contributed to illnesses in the family of former President George H.W. Bush.
Mr. Bush and his wife, Barbara, lived in Spring Valley with son Marvin for five months in 1967. Mr. and Mrs. Bush both now have an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid known as Graves’ disease. Marvin Bush was diagnosed with colitis in 1986; doctors removed his colon.
A spokesman for the former president, who is 80, last week said the Bush family has no comment on the matter.“

Cases of Parkinsons, pernicious anemia etc also present in the Bush family per the Current report which is copied upthread. Another gvt funded study said nothing to see here.

So again, what’s your personal risk tolerance? You are buying on a FUDS contaminated land. That’s no secret.

Anonymous wrote:No. To explain why, the HHS has an article about how vapors and particles make it into the homes from the soil and groundwater. They also make if it on the wind, shoes, through stack effect, So, no, you can’t just close the door on the contaminants.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692377/

I would be surprised if this area would be redeveloped today. But at the time when this was “discovered” again, developer had finished redeveloping and rebranding the Death Valley into the Spring Valley and people had been living there for 50 years.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4692377/

Not a scientist, but if the stuff is going into the groundwater (which given how much clay we have in the area, that's scary), aren't we all at risk?

I have a very close family friend who lived for decades in SV in a gorgeous house. What many of us would say is a dream house. My sibling and I even stayed at her house while working low-paying jobs/house-sitting. She has a lifelong health condition. I have no idea if it is connected to SV but, it and the many articles written about it is unsettling.

Anonymous wrote:You would have to assume that the primary goal of the government or the military (UCASE is doing the clean up) is clean, safe and healthy environment for all the citizens and workers. I’ll let that sit. Google military base housing, google any recent contamination site. I’ll wait.

My assumption would be that the federal government can’t afford to buy all of the contaminated land, so therefore they have to find a way to say it’s safe. My assumption would be that they started with that premise. I don’t need to google anything to make that assumption.

How is everybody all “babe in the woods” on this issue? It’s been written about and discussed for years. You either want to know and care, want to know and don’t care or don’t want to know and don’t care. And that includes all the intelligent people. Plenty of intelligent people said no as well, statistically more than said yes.

UCASE says on their website that no one can guarantee you anything. Your choice. Free country.