201 INDIAN HEAD HIGHWAY
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC) is located in northwestern Charles County, Maryland approximately 25 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. The facility consists of the main area on the Cornwallis Neck Peninsula and the Stump Neck Annex. The main area consists of approximately 2,500 acres and is bounded by the Potomac River to the west and north, the Mattawoman Creek to the south, and the town of Indian Head to the east. The Stump Neck Annex is located across the Mattawoman Creek and contains an additional 1,000 acres. NSWC was established in 1890 as the Naval Proving Ground, with the mission of testing explosives and propellents. Over its 100 year history of operations, the facility has manufactured a variety of munitions chemicals such as smokeless powder, ammonium picrate, nitroglycerine, and nitrocellulose. Quantities of sulfuric and nitric acids have been used in the various manufacturing processes. Manufacturing, testing, loading, and assembly operations at the site have generated a variety of explosive, reactive, and hazardous wastes. In the past, some of these waste products were routinely dumped into pits and landfills on the facility or burned in open burning grounds. Industrial wastewaters were routinely discharged to septic systems and to open ditches and storm sewers that emptied directly to surrounding water bodies. A number of possible contaminant sites have been identified within the facility. These generally fall into one of the following categories: releases of mercury from testing procedures, releases of silver from X-ray processes and manufacturing, solvent spills and disposal areas, open burning grounds, land disposal units, and discharges of industrial wastewater containing hazardous elements. Site Responsibility The site is being addressed through Federal actions.
2,289 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
$82,219 |
Average Income |
783 |
Occupied homes |
No stories have been submitted for this site.
