UXO Site selected: Blossom Point Research Facility (BPRF) - MMRP, MD

General Area: LaPlata, MD

Site Type/Program: MMRP - Army

Location: The Blossom Point Research Facility (BPRF) is located on Cedar Neck Point, at the confluence of Nanjemoy Creek and the Potomac River, in the southern tip of Charles County, MD. It is approximately 50 miles south of Washington D.C., and nine miles southwest of LaPlata, MD.

Brief History:

The history of the Blossom Point Research Facility (BPRF) dates back to 1942 when the Director of the Office of Scientific Research for the Department of War wrote a letter to the Roman Catholic Clergymen of MD (the owners of the land at the time) inquiring about the lease of the Blossom Point area to support the national war effort. The inquiry resulted in the leasing of the Blossom Point area starting in November of 1942 for use as a testing range. The initial lease of the property with the church was due to expire in 1975 so in the early 1970s, the Army started to relocate the testing and personnel to Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG). Facing the requirement to clear the property of explosives and UXO, the Army evaluated the cost and technical challenges associated with cleaning up Blossom Point. When the Army evaluated the factors, they realized that the cost of cleaning up the property would far exceed its monetary value and that technology available at the time could not provide a guarantee of complete effectiveness. Therefore the Army opted to purchase the property instead. The installation is now part of the Army Research Labs.



Range / Site Description: The MMRP sites associated with BPRF run along the shoreline of the installation and into the waters of the Potomac River and Nanjemoy Creek. There are 3 Munitions Response Site Associated with BPRF including:

The Nanjemoy Creek MRS (BPF-002-R-0

Associated Munitions: The munitions fired into the MMRP sites included 2.75", 3.25", 4.5", and 5" rockets; 4.2" and 81 mm mortars; and 20, 30, and 40 mm projectiles.

Activities Completed: The Army completed a Historical Records Review (HRR) and a Site Inspection (SI) for the BPRF. An interim munitions removal action was conducted within the shoreline range fan MRS in 2007-2008 in the form on an Engineering Evaluation / Cost Analysis (EE/CA) by the USACE Baltimore District to address surface UXO on the land and within the shallow waters surrounding the installation. ESTCP conducted a technology demonstration of an underwater detection system within the water ran fan area of the Potomac and parts of the Nanjemoy Creek.

Issues:

Other Information: The site will continue to move through the CERCLA process. The water areas will likely progress at a much slower schedule due to the state of flux of the Army's underwater UXO program at this time. I.e.. The Army is handling underwater sites on a site-by-site basis and has not formulated a complete strategy for underwater sites at this time.

Reports Documents Relevant to Blossom Point Research Facility (BPRF) - MMRP, MD Available on UXOInfo.com:
Click on the title to view the document from UXOInfo.com's UXO Library
Document TitleDocument Date
ORAP Exec Summary - Blossom Point Research Facility01-Sep-08
UXO Site Maps no map available
Map of BPRF MMRP Sites- Click Map for Larger View
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