Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate

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Overview
History
Achievements
Leadership

The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA) Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD) provides centralized management and direction to the Department of Defense for the assessment and disposal of recovered chemical warfare materiel (RCWM) in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

RCMD leads the nation in the development and utilization of advanced technology to destroy RCWM. In 1997, the United States entered into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an international treaty requiring the destruction of chemical weapons.

In support of the CWC, RCMD maintains technology and personnel expertise to continue to destroy RCWM around the country.

View the RCMD Overview Fact Sheet

The U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project (NSCMP) was created in 1992 to support the assessment and treatment of chemical warfare materiel that was not part of the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile. NSCMP’s expertise has transferred to the Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD), U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA). RCMD leads the nation in the development and utilization of advanced technology to treat recovered chemical warfare materiel.

RCMD leads the nation in the development and use of advanced technology to treat recovered chemical warfare materiel, while protecting the public, its workers and the environment. As of September 2015, RCMD had destroyed more than 2,237 items using the EDS, in a steadily growing record of safety and efficiency.

RCMD has performed more than 3,300 assessments in the United States.

RCMD destroyed more than 258,000 projectile bodies at Hawthorne Army Depot, NV.

RCMD destroyed more than 57,000 canister drums in Pine Bluff, AR.

RCMD decontaminated and destroyed, or recycled, 7,824 ton containers in MD, AR and UT.

RCMD destroyed 10 chemical weapons production facilities in five states.

RCMD destroyed 5,528 CAIS items using scans and RRS in 9 states.

RCMD has treated more than 2,600 items using EDS as of October 2016.

Mr. Donald R. Benton serves as the Director of Recovered Chemical Materiel, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA), since April 2020. Prior to leading the Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD), Mr. Benton served as Deputy Director of RCMD. He is responsible for the programmatic oversight of the development and use of technology to support RCMD’s mission to assess and destroy recovered chemical warfare materiel in a safe, environmentally sound and cost-effective manner.

Mr. Benton is a 38-year employee with the Department of the Army, working for most of the past three decades in the chemical weapons assessment, destruction and decontamination field. His areas of expertise include air filtration technology, thermal decontamination and operational planning for chemical demilitarization. His accomplishments during his career include completion of two large projects. First was the destruction of the Newport Former Production Facility at Newport Chemical Depot, Indiana. Destruction of former chemical weapon production facilities was one of the nation’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty, an effort that was completed in 2007.

This project entailed using an innovative thermal decontamination method for eight Bulk Agent Storage Tanks, each 60 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, followed by disassembly. Thermal decontamination avoided the creation of hundreds of thousands of gallons of hazardous liquid waste that would be generated by rinsing the containers. Mr. Benton also managed the thermal decontamination and recycling of 4,307 empty 1,600-pound steel containers at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, using a similar thermal decontamination method.

For both projects, Mr. Benton arranged for the decontaminated containers to be recycled rather than going to landfills, vastly reducing the waste generated by the missions. By recycling a total of 400 tons of steel for the Newport project and more than 3,200 tons of steel for the Pine Bluff mission, Mr. Benton supported the Army’s commitment to environmental stewardship.

Mr. Benton is Level 3 acquisition certified in Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering. He is a 2004 Federal Executive Board Bronze Award recipient for management and administration, and has received numerous Army civilian awards, including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.

Born and raised in the small northwestern Pennsylvania town of Saint Marys, Mr. Benton received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1982. After college, he joined the civilian workforce for the Department of the Army. He lives in Aberdeen, Maryland, with his family.

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