Recent winds and rain have extended the time that a van-mounted air monitoring station will operate in the back corner of the Navy’s support site base in Gricignano, a Navy official said.

“The mobile air monitoring station that was set up on March 20 at the support site by [the Italian Government] will be left in place for longer than originally planned.

The Italian scientists in charge of the monitor would like to ensure that data is collected during various meteorological conditions,” stated Kelly Burdick, spokeswoman with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe and Southwest Asia.

Burdick said that the recent rainy weather may have cleared the air of dust and other potential contaminants, “and the scientists felt a longer sampling period would offer more accurate and representative results,” Burdick said.

She did not know how long the station will remain on base.

The system, set up and monitored by Agenzia Regionale Protezione Ambientale Campania, the Italian equivalent of the Environmental Protection Agency, is testing the air for the presence of possible harmful chemicals, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and benzene.

Navy officials will post results of tests as they get them on the Naval Support Activity Web site.

British soldier dies after training accidentA soldier attached to the British Army’s 7th Armored Brigade, 1st Armored Division died Monday at the Regensburg University Hospital from injuries sustained in a vehicle accident at the Hohenfels Training Area, according to a news release.

The accident also injured several other soldiers from the brigade, which is conducting a mission-rehearsal exercise at the area’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in preparation for potential deployments, the release said.

U.S. and British medical staff treated the injured soldiers on scene, while those in need of additional care were airlifted by U.S. Army helicopters to several local hospitals, the release said.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation by the British Royal Military Police, Special Investigations Branch, the release added.

The 7th Armored Brigade is based in Hohne, Germany.

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