Edgewood Chemical Activity and 22d Chemical Battalion workers and officials look on as the last ton container is transported from the Chemical Agent Storage Yard to the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility's Process Neutralization Bay. Download High-Res Image

The Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. was one of nine Army installations in the United States that stored chemical agent. The Army worked in partnership with state and local government agencies, as well as federal agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to safeguard the local community and protect the environment during storage and disposal of the chemical agent.

The Aberdeen Proving Ground was established in 1917 as the Army's primary research and development center for munitions and equipment. The Edgewood Arsenal, then a separate Army installation, became the center for production and research in chemical warfare. The arsenal became the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1971, when the installations merged.

Since 1941, the Army safely stored approximately five percent of the nation's original chemical agent in steel ton containers, at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. Construction of the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ABCDF) was completed in 2002. Agent destruction operations began in April 2003 and were completed in February 2006. ABCDF's permit was officially closed in June 2007.

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Army accelerated the neutralization schedule for the agent stored at the Edgewood Area. The Army worked with state regulators, local and national elected officials, and other partners in implementing the accelerated neutralization plan. Aberdeen stockpile consisted of chemical agent HG—mustard blister agent. During agent operations, ABCDF used a chemical neutralization process to break down the chemical agent mustard. The Army also used the same technology at its Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Newport, Ind. Neutralization will also be used at two Department of Defense Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives sites.

Public Participation and Community Relations

To learn more about the Army’s chemical weapons disposal mission call 410-436-3629, or call CMA's toll-free number 800-488-0648.