The new public plaza at the Penrose Square development along Columbia Pike is still expected to open this fall, despite a recent setback.
The contractor working on the $2 million project found and accidentally ruptured an oil tank earlier this month during excavation work, we’re told. The rupture contaminated part of the site, but the county and contractors worked quickly to remedy the situation.
Update at 11:15 a.m. — The all-clear has been given and the hazmat team is packing up their gear.
Some roads are being shut down in the area of 2800 S. Randolph Street in Shirlington due to a hazmat investigation.
Update at 7:40 p.m. — The all-clear was given at about 5:00 p.m. and the scene has since been cleared.
The Arlington County Fire Department’s hazmat team is investigating a suspicious substance at a federal office in Shirlington.
Arlington County is warning residents to avoid human or pet contact with the water from Four Mile Run. A petroleum product has reportedly been found in the water.
From a county news release:
A mysterious green dye has been spotted in the water along Four Mile Run Dr. near S. George Mason Dr.
Arlington County Fire Department’s Hazmat team is on the scene. They say the dye is a non-hazardous drainage detection substance. Bags of this type of dye are sometimes released into a building’s drainage system to make sure there are no leaks or breaks. A nearby building performed this type of test today, and it drains into the creek at Four Mile Run.
Update at 5:00 p.m. — “This occurred outside the bank near the ATM in the mall,” Arlington Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal tells ARLnow.com. “It does not appear to be hazardous at this time and was not a robbery or attempted bank robbery.”
Update at 4:20 p.m. — We’re told that tests have revealed the substance to be “non-hazardous.” At least one patient was transported to the hospital, however.
U.S. Park Police, Arlington County Fire Department, and Alexandria Fire Department all responded when someone called in concerns about an odd smell. Crews found the small spill in a creek near the entrance to the island and put booms in the water to contain it. Arrangements are being made to reinforce the boom when the tide changes so no containment is lost.
U.S. Park Police spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser says tests are being done on the substance to determine exactly what it is. Based on the odor, coloration and gelling it is believed to be a petroleum product, possibly a type of diesel fuel.
A fire broke out at the Duron Paint store near the corner of Glebe Road and Lee Highway this morning.
The Arlington County Fire Department responded to the store around 6:30 a.m. after a passerby saw smoke and called 911. Firefighters had the bulk of the fire knocked within 10 minutes, according to department spokesperson Lt. Gregg Karl.
An Arlington County hazardous materials team has been dispatched to Fort Myer to investigate a white powder that reportedly fell out of a package mailed to the base.
The building that houses the installation’s personnel office has been evacuated while hazmat crews determine whether the substance could be harmful.
With gunfire at Pentagon earlier today, another emergency response in the area may be startling. But this one has nothing to do with this morning’s events.
Crews from the Arlington Fire Department and from the Pentagon’s environmental response squad are on the scene of a possible hazmat situation at the Navy Exchange gas station on South Joyce Street.
Arlington firefighters and the hazardous materials team responded to the Lyon Village Shopping Center around 12:20 this afternoon for a strong chemical odor. Several people in the Starbucks reported feeling ill as a result of the odor.
Firefighters went up to the roof and came down with a bucket of epoxy that was being used for some sort of roofing work.
The fire department is on the scene at the headquarters of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Virginia Square for a report of strong gas fumes in the parking garage.
Initial reports suggest two people who were in the garage are now being treated after feeling lightheaded.
