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Reach Highlighting

the U.S. Army’s

Chemical 

Demilitarization 

Program

Eliminating the mustard agent stockpile at 

Aberdeen Proving Ground is not a typical job 

for children to learn about on Take Your Sons 

and Daughters to Work Day, but then the 

mothers and fathers who work at the Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, or ABCDF, 

do not have typical jobs.

On April 22, 15 school-aged children of 

ABCDF employees learned first-hand what their 

parents do at the ABCDF. Instead of learning 

about how things are made, patients are treated, 

or forms are processed-- the more typical 

subjects of Take our Sons and Daughters to 

Work Day-- the children of ABCDF employees 

learned how ton containers of mustard agent 

are moved and drained and how the mustard 

agent is safely destroyed. 

They learned that it’s always “Safety First” at 

the ABCDF. 

Edgewood Chemical Activity/ABCDF Commander 

Lt. Col. Gerald L. Gladney welcomed the children to 

the April event. “We’re so glad to have you here today. 

It’s an excellent opportunity for us to explain the vital 

mission your parents perform for this community and 

this great nation on a daily basis.” He added, “It’s also an 

opportunity to ask questions and see how what you learn 

in school opens the door to a number of exciting careers.”

The children asked, “How do you take away the 

chemicals?” “Are all of the chemicals stored here?” 

“Is it safe?” 

“Safety is our primary focus here at the ABCDF,” said 

ABCDF Safety Manager Jerry Ray. He told the children, 

“Hazards can be found everywhere, but if we think before 

we act and protect ourselves, many of those potential 

hazards can be avoided.” Ray explained how the Army 

works to protect their parents. “Our goal is to make sure 

that when your mom and dad come to work everyday, 

they are safe and are able to return home to you.” 

Throughout the day, the children tried on many different 

kinds of safety equipment used at the facility such as Kevlar 

gloves, hardhats, goggles, face shields, earplugs, steel-toed 

boots and safety harnesses. They watched one of the 

workers put on a fully encapsulating protective suit with 

an air tank, and learned how on-site medical personnel 

continuously monitor workers to keep them safe. 

Laboratory technicians also described how they ensure 

that there is no mustard agent left after each batch is 

neutralized in the facility’s mixing tanks. The children 

practiced laboratory safety by wearing lab coats, gloves 

and safety goggles while they participated in several handson laboratory analyses. 

“I didn’t realize that the workers need to use all of this 

equipment just to stay safe,” said six-year-old Alexandra 

Ruggles, daughter of Bechtel Aberdeen’s Deborah Ruggles. 

Referring to the fully encapsulating ‘moon suit’ the 

workers wear in the agent neutralization area, she added, 

“It’s amazing that they can work in that thing at all.” 

Eleven-year-old Evelyn James Feeney told her father as 

she was leaving, “Daddy, I think I finally understand 

what you do when you go to work.”

Since operations began in March 2003, over 364 tons of 

mustard agent have been safely neutralized at the ABCDF.

Children learn about safety and mustard 

agent destruction at ABCDF’s Take Your Sons 

and Daughters to Work Day

Spring 2004

Edgewood 

Chemical Stockpile 

Outreach Office

1011 B Woodbridge 

Center Way

Edgewood, MD 21040

(410) 676-6800

Outreach Office Hours

Monday–Friday

8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Other hours by appointment

U.S. Army 

Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent 

Disposal Facility 

Public Affairs Office

(410) 436-5253

Bechtel Aberdeen 

Public Outreach Office

(410) 436-9504

Edgewood

D.J. Kopp, 11, and Alexandra Ruggles, 6, look on while ABCDF Laboratory 

Analytical Branch Manager Hal Garber demonstrates how to use radial 

chromatography to separate a drop of ink into its individual color 

components using diluted alcohol and a coffee filter. 

Photo by Nancy Hofmann

Photo by Nancy Hofmann

Ten-year old Shane Evans conducts his own radial 

chromatography experiment during ABCDF’s Take Your Sons 

and Daughters to Work Day. 

www.cma.army.mil
The U.S. Army Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel Program 

(NSCMP) dedicated its newest capability and first fixed 

facility to treat recovered chemical weapons during a 

ceremony at Aberdeen Proving Ground’s (APG) Edgewood 

Area on May 5. The Col. Garland M. White Munitions 

Assessment and Processing System (MAPS) Facility is 

different from the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal 

Facility (ABCDF) where APG’s stockpile of mustard 

agent is currently being destroyed. The MAPS facility 

provides the Army and the community with an 

environmentally friendly alternative to open detonation 

for most recovered munitions.

During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Paul Fletcher, Program 

Manager for Non-Stockpile Chemical Materiel, noted, 

“Many individuals and organizations have been part of the 

MAPS team, contributing to the success of development 

and construction since the project began.” Fletcher 

recognized numerous Army entities; citizens such as the 

Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) Restoration Advisory 

Board members; regulators such as the Maryland 

Department of the Environment; and industry, such as the 

John C. Grimberg Construction Company. 

“The cooperation of these organizations aided in the 

development and completion of the MAPS facility and 

represents a unique partnership between the Army and its 

stakeholders,” Fletcher explained. 

NSCMP is part of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials 

Agency (CMA), the world leader in programs to store, 

treat and dispose of chemical weapons safely and 

effectively. CMA Director Michael Parker, who spoke 

at the ceremony, said he recognized the value of the 

partnership between the Army and the community. The 

dedication ceremony featured remarks from Col. Robert J. 

Davis, Baltimore District Commander, U.S. Army Corps 

of Engineers. Dennis Schrader, Director of the Maryland 

Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, who along with 

Kevin Flamm, Program Manager for the Elimination of 

Chemical Weapons, led the ribbon-cutting ceremony 

that marked the official dedication of the facility to Col. 

Garland M. White, the first commander of the U.S. Army 

Technical Escort Unit at APG. 

Designed with safety and flexibility in mind, MAPS will 

process a variety of smoke and chemical-filled munitions 

including World War I-era British and French munitions. 

This flexibility translates into the ability to quickly and 

safely process recovered munitions to reduce the number 

of open detonations and reduce the strain on APG’s 

available storage facilities here. Workers at the MAPS 

facility will drill each munition and drain chemical or 

smoke fill for treatment at the APG Chemical Transfer 

Facility. Explosives from the treated and drained munition 

then will be detonated within the MAPS 

burster detonation vessel. Testing of the system 

continues, with operations scheduled to begin in 2005. 

For additional information visit the NSCMP Web site 

at http://www.cma.army.mil.

U.S. Army dedicates new facility designed to 

destroy chemical weapons

Munitions Assessment and Processing System to treat 

recovered munitions 

“I’m pleased we 

were able to 

implement a 

solution that meets 

the needs of the 

local community. 

Constructing 

a facility from 

concept to startup may sound 

simple, but consider 

that we started 

this project with 

a blank piece of 

paper in 1998. We 

had to budget the 

money, design the 

facility, complete 

environmental 

assessments and 

design reviews, 

obtain permits, 

clear the site and 

finally, build it.” 

—Lt. Col. Paul Fletcher, 

Program Manager for 

Non-Stockpile Chemical 

Materiel, during 

the ceremony.

ABCDF’s Bechtel Aberdeen team assists with 

mustard agent disposal strategy in Utah

3

Stockpile Emergency 

Preparedness 

Exercise Sharpens 

Response Skills 

Personnel from the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), 

Edgewood Chemical Activity and ABCDF will 

participate in an annual Chemical Stockpile Emergency 

Preparedness Program (CSEPP) exercise with officials 

from federal, state, and local emergency management 

agencies on August 4, 2004. Because safety of the 

community and the surrounding environment is a 

top priority, the Army partners with these agencies 

to evaluate and strengthen response activities in the 

unlikely event of a chemical stockpile accident. 

The annual exercises are similar to fire drills conducted 

in schools and businesses and offer responders an 

opportunity to test plans, procedures, skills and 

equipment. “Each year we welcome this occasion to 

execute and prove-out plans created to ensure maximum 

protection to the public,” said Linda Nogle, CSEPP 

program installation coordinator for APG. 

The discovery of mercury and mercury-contaminated 

sludge in approximately 1,000 of the mustard ton 

containers in storage at Deseret Chemical Depot (DCD) 

in Utah has prompted the U.S. Army’s Chemical Materials 

Agency to give tentative approval for the Tooele Chemical 

Agent Disposal Facility’s (TOCDF) systems contractor, 

EG&G Defense Materials, Inc., to move forward with its 

planned strategy to safely destroy DCD’s mustard agent 

and munitions stockpile. 

Under the proposed strategy, Bechtel Aberdeen, systems 

contractor at the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal 

Facility, or ABCDF, will help EG&G implement a plan 

for processing DCD’s mustard which, because of mercury 

contamination, cannot be safely destroyed or removed 

using TOCDF’s existing incineration systems. URS Austin 

(Texas) and Washington Demilitarization Company, 

systems contractor at three incineration sites in Alabama, 

Oregon and Arkansas, also will assist with the strategy. 

Generally, the mustard strategy initially involves sampling 

all mustard ton containers stored at DCD to determine 

More than 364 tons of

mustard agent have been drained.

At a glance – ABCDF stats

as of July 12, 2004

Approximately 1,139,895

gallons of the neutralization 

byproduct, called 

hydrolysate, have been 

shipped for biotreatment 

to DuPont Secure 

Environmental Treatment 

at Chambers Works in 

Deepwater, N.J.

Total Drained

Hydrolysate Transport

Of the drained mustard 

agent, more than 346 tons

have been neutralized.

Total Neutralized

Editors Note:

which contain mercury and which do not. The design of 

this comprehensive sampling effort already is underway. 

Modifications to TOCDF will occur over an approximate 

two-year period. Unused equipment will be removed 

and replaced with systems and equipment needed 

to safely dispose of the “mercury tons,” including a 

bulk drain station, neutralization/washout system and 

mercury filtration system for one of the two TOCDF 

liquid incinerators. 

“It’s a pretty significant effort and it will be the largest 

facility modification effort in an active chemical weapons 

disposal facility,” said Gary McCloskey, EG&G vice 

president and general manager at the TOCDF, who led 

the strategy development. Potential final approval of the 

plan only can come through a formal permit modification 

process. Authorization must come from Utah’s Division 

of Solid and Hazardous Waste, following a process that 

includes giving members of the public ample opportunity 

to provide comments on the proposal.

Kevin Flamm, Program Manager for Elimination of Chemical Weapons, assists Lt. Col. Paul Fletcher, NSCMP Program Manager, with 

the unveiling of the dedication plaque for the Col. Garland M. White MAPS Facility during the ceremony on May 5.

Photo by Conrad Johnson/U.S. Army

2

This Spring 2004 issue 

of ABCDF’s quarterly 

newsletter, Reach, 

will be the final issue. 

ABCDF’s outreach 

team will instead 

provide the public 

with information 

on the project on a 

regular basis through 

Progress Update, 

using our Reach 

mailing list. 

Comments from our 

readers indicated 

that the community 

preferred receiving 

timelier information 

in a shorter format. 

We welcome further 

comments from our 

readers on the kind 

of news about the 

project you would 

like to read and 

story suggestions.
Reach

Edgewood Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office

c/o Director U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency 

Public Affairs Office E4585

AMSCM-SSP

5183 Blackhawk Road

APG-EA, MD 21010-5424

APG’s CSEPP coordinator receives governor’s citation

Since 1985, when the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP) 

was created, professionals from various state and local emergency management 

agencies have been working to make sure that the surrounding community is kept safe 

in the event of an accident.

Recently a few of the professionals were recognized for their efforts with the 

Governor’s Citation from Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich. Among those 

recognized was Linda Nogle of the Edgewood Chemical Activity.

The CSEPP program installation coordinator for Aberdeen Proving Ground since 

1991, Nogle is responsible for synchronizing the efforts of the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency; the Maryland Emergency Management Agency; the Baltimore, 

Harford and Kent County emergency management agencies; and local agencies and 

services such as the APG police, medical, fire, public affairs and the US Army Technical 

Escort Unit.

“Coordinating representatives and activities from so many agencies is a hard job,” said 

Edgewood Chemical Activity/Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility commander 

Lt. Col. Gerald L. Gladney. “The recognition for Linda’s efforts is well deserved, and we 

couldn’t be more proud of her.”