Maloney Hall
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The Martin Maloney Chemical Laboratory of The Catholic University of America was built in November, 1917. It underwent renovations and extensions in 1926. Currently, the building is being used as a Chemical Laboratory for the University. It houses the Department of Chemistry, classrooms, laboratories and an auditorium. When it was first built it served as a lab for army researchers developing chemical munitions for World War I.
Recently, students at the Catholic University of America received an e-mail from the University's Office of Public Affairs informing students that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be "collecting samples to test for the possible existence of environmental contaminants in and around Maloney Hall." Maloney Hall is the laboratory where the chemical weapon Lewisite was first developed by Winford Lee Lewis, with the help of CUA and Army researchers.
Students were told that, "The contractors will be collecting soil samples outside and paint samples in Maloney Hall to test for any residual byproducts, primarily arsenic, that may have broken down from chemical munitions that were developed at Maloney in 1918."
The University and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintain that there is no risk to the students of the university, but the contractors working on the project will be wearing protective gear and that they will "establish a buffer zone around the outdoor sample collection area to protect passers-by."
