Heavy rain causes flooding at Fort Detrick. Operations at Fort Detrick’s BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories are shut down due to flooding and leakage in hazardous waste storage tanks. Workers discovered flooding in the facility on May 17 and on May 25, a leak was discovered in a storage tank. The first reports indicate that the storage tank was overfilled, which activated a system backup that also failed, which eventually resulted in a leak outside the plant’s concrete containment wall.
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BSL-3 and BSL-4 Laboratories Temporarily Halts Activity at USAMRIID
USAMRIID temporarily halted activities at the BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories as water from the SSP could have been released to the site around the SSP building. Following resumption of operations in 2018, USAMRIID relied on chemical sterilization of laboratory liquid wastewater (i.e., wastewater) and contracted its removal from Fort Detrick for disposal.
On July 17, 2018, CLCAC held a public forum with management from both USAMRIID and Fort Detrick to discuss the damage and plans at that time to continue safe operations at the USAMRIID laboratories.