Contact Us

Marine lands on Army project

Summer 2002 Maj. Rick Shizuru gets experience with private industry at APG

U.S. Army

Program 

Manager 

for Chemical 

Demilitarization

Edgewood 

Chemical Stockpile 

Outreach Office

1011 B Woodbridge 

Center Way

Edgewood, MD 21040

Outreach Office Hours

Monday–Friday

8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Other hours by appointment

Outreach Office Staff

Nancy Hofmann

nancy_hofmann@

urscorp.com

Dennis Story

dennis_story@urscorp.com

(410) 676-6800

Army Public Affairs 

Specialist

Kathy DeWeese

katherine.deweese@ 

abcdf.apgea.army.mil

(410) 436-5253

Bechtel Aberdeen 

Public Outreach 

Manager

Miguel Monteverde

mmmontev@bechtel.com

(410) 436-9507

Reach Highlighting

the U.S. Army’s

Chemical 

Demilitarization 

Program

Edgewood

Forested wetland created on APG’s Carroll Island site

The Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility 

project is creating more than a plant to eliminate the 

stockpile of bulk mustard agent stored at Aberdeen 

Continued on page 3

“Send in the Marines,” is not a phrase usually 

associated with a construction project, especially 

not an Army construction project at the Edgewood 

Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground. But, “Send in 

the Marine,” (to be more accurate), is exactly what 

happened when Marine Maj. Richard N. “Rick” 

Shizuru was assigned for duty at the Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (ABCDF) in 

June 2001.

Shizuru has spent the last year as a member of the 

ABCDF systems contractor team, Bechtel Aberdeen, 

where he has worked as an assistant construction 

manager. “The Commandant of the Marine Corps 

wanted his officers exposed to a broad spectrum of 

professional experiences outside the pattern of their 

normal duty assignments,” explained the 42-year-old 

Hawaiian native. “He established the Commandant’s 

National Fellowship Program and each year, sends 

a number of officers out to work with private 

industry. I was lucky enough to draw Bechtel and 

the ABCDF project.” Continued on page 2 Photo by Jason Ebrite

Environmental Engineer Darren Durbin reviews plans, 

as wetland construction continues on Carroll Island.

Proving Ground since World War II. It’s also 

creating more than two acres of new wetlands. 

As part of the state of Maryland’s requirement 

to restore affected wetlands, a forested wetland 

of 1400 trees and shrubs is being developed at 

APG’s Carroll Island. 

“Green ash, red maple, willow oak, red 

chokeberry and highbush blueberry were chosen 

because they are the primary existing species,” 

said Dr. James Bailey, an environmental scientist 

who oversees the project at the Garrison APG’s 

directorate of safety, health and environment. 

Carroll Island, a remote site near Baltimore 

County historically used in air dispersion 

modeling and testing, will eventually be 

designated as a preserved natural resources area, 

making it a practical site for the new wetland. 

Maj. Rick Shizuru playfully applies the Marine 

Corps seal to the Army Program Manager for 

Chemical Demilitarization display in the disposal 

facility’s John Samuel Building.

Photo by Miguel Monteverde

Trained by the Marines as a pilot for both 

helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, Shizuru 

has an eye for detail and a well-developed 
2

Marines are few, but this 

one’s proud of work on 

Army’s disposal project “Building 

a chemical 

demilitarization 

facility seems like 

a far cry from 

flying a plane, 

but in doing 

both, you have 

to focus on many 

things at once 

and double-check 

them all. Safety 

is the bottom 

line, whether it’s 

your air crew or 

your construction 

crew.”

—Maj. Richard N. 

“Rick” Shizuru 

appreciation for safety. “Building a chemical 

demilitarization facility seems like a far cry from 

flying a plane, but in doing both, you have to focus 

on many things at once and double-check them all. 

Safety is the bottom line, whether it’s your air crew 

or your construction crew.”

Shizuru’s appreciation for safety fit right in with the 

ABCDF team, whose purpose is to safely destroy 

the bulk stockpile of mustard agent stored at the 

Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground and 

whose motto is, “Working Together for a Safe 

Community, a Sound Environment.”

“I like that motto,” said Shizuru, “because it begins 

with the concept of teamwork – ‘working together’ 

– to achieve important goals. That’s what being a 

Marine is all about.”

Environmental concern is no strange concept to this 

Hawaiian native, either, as the many unique, but 

fragile ecosystems of his home state are protected by 

some of the most stringent regulations in the nation.

But, while Shizuru came to the ABCDF to learn, 

he made it a two-way exchange. “Rick brought 

with him an infectious enthusiasm that became 

an immediate asset to the project,”said Eli 

Smith, Bechtel’s Engineering, Procurement, and 

Construction manager. “And, his familiarity with 

security and the handling of classified documents 

helped us a great deal, especially in the wake of 

Sept. 11. While I am sure he learned many new 

things during his time with us, he made a genuine 

contribution to the project. We’ll miss him.” 

Shizuru, his wife, Lisa, and their two daughters, 

Kamele, 9, and Kanoe, 7, came to the Aberdeen area 

from a four-year tour at Marine Corps Air Station, 

Iwakuni, Japan. He has been selected for promotion 

to lieutenant colonel and will leave in June for a new 

assignment in his family’s home state of Hawaii.

“We’ve enjoyed our year here on the ‘mainland,’” 

Shizuru smiled, “but we are excited to be going 

home. I’m very proud to have had a small hand in 

helping Maryland become the first state to be free of 

its chemical stockpile. When I read about it in the 

Honolulu Advertiser, I can say ‘The Marines did 

their part. Semper Fi!’”

Earleville resident Roy Dietz, right, exchanges 

ideas with Kevin Flamm, project manager for 

Alternative Technologies and Approaches.

“We are very concerned with the disposal 

program and agree with the need to

accelerate. The flyers, notices and REACH 

newsletter are good ways to disseminate 

information. Thank you.”

 - Edward Decker, Joppa

“Hope we get the federal funding to accelerate 

disposal. Thanks for all the updates.”

 - Mary Hardy, Joppa

“Is there any possibility of an error committed 

in the disposal of the mustard gas? I feel very 

uncomfortable about it.”

 - Ruth Jones, Edgewood

“Very informative updates. Hope it works 

without a hitch.” 

 - Peter Svenson, Chestertown

“I think it is great the Army is working hard 

to destroy its chemical weapons for less than 

$600M. I think shipments should be by rail, not 

trucks.” 

- William and Kimberly Osburn, Abingdon 

feedback 

from the... Report 

Card

Photo by Kathy DeWeese

Continued from page 1

You may have received our “Report Card” 

mailer designed to help us report on our 

progress and provide you with a reply-mailer 

for your questions. We’ve received close to 

100 responses and thought you’d like to know 

what your neighbors think. Keep an eye out for 

future “Report Cards” and let us know what 

you think. 
3

Maryland Department of the Environment set the 

requirements and approved plans associated with 

the project. Besides providing habitat for hundreds 

of plants and animals, wetlands provide various 

environmental benefits including enhancement 

of water quality and shoreline protection, while 

reducing sediments and absorbing nutrients. 

Before any excavation work began, topographical 

surveys were conducted and explosive ordnance 

disposal crews recovered ordnance around and 

within the wetland’s six-foot basin. Project Manager 

Jason Ebrite, a senior scientist with General Physics 

Corporation, said the plans for the forested wetland 

will use a number of various damage control 

products to ensure survivability, such as mulching 

and tree tubes. 

Ebrite, a native of Glen Arm, Md., said that the 

species are being planted in large sizes to reduce their 

vulnerability to foraging deer. 

“We want this area to blend seamlessly into the 

natural environment within 10 years or so, so we 

were happy to have the artistic license to design it as 

naturally as possible from the start.” 

In addition to the creation of forested wetland 

on Carroll Island, the plan also calls for the 

enhancement of existing wetland. 

“Approximately 15 to 20 acres of estuarine wetland, 

also on Carroll Island, dominated by phragmites, a 

common invasive reed, will be treated to eliminate 

the phragmites and to encourage the growth of 

native species,” Bailey added. 

Forested wetland created on APG’s Carroll Island site

The Army’s plans to accelerate mustard agent 

destruction are most visible on the Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent Disposal Facility construction site. 

Work on the original disposal facility officially was 

halted on Feb. 1, 2002. Adaptation of those 

buildings and structures for the accelerated program 

began immediately thereafter and continues 

on schedule.

At the heart of the accelerated program is the former 

ABCDF plant warehouse. This 19,200 square foot 

structure was originally slated to store construction 

material and would have later housed the disposal 

facility’s maintenance and repair shops. In a 

Cinderella-like transformation, this very utilitarian 

adaptable building has become the accelerated 

program’s neutralization facility.

A new building has been constructed inside the 

warehouse. This building-within-a-building is the 

neutralization bay. Outfitted with various holding 

tanks and four 2,500 gallon titanium neutralization 

reactors, the structure is a well-ordered maze of 

pumps, pipes and filtered ventilation systems. 

Immediately outside the neutralization bay 

enclosure, but inside the warehouse, workers are 

installing three glove boxes, where the mustard agent 

containers will be drained.

Scheduled for completion by the end of the 

summer, the neutralization facility will undergo a 

rigorous systemizing and testing program before any 

mustard agent is introduced. On May 15, DuPont 

was contracted to provide biotreatment for the 

neutralization byproduct at its Chambers Works 

facility in Deepwater, NJ. The current schedule calls 

for agent operations to begin in March 2003 and 

complete six months later, two years ahead of the 

original schedule.

“The Bechtel Aberdeen team has quickly revised 

the construction execution and re-oriented their 

engineering and construction forces to execute the 

accelerated project,” said Robert P. Rizzieri, Army 

deputy site manager and resident engineer. 

“They’ve done a good job, and our teams are 

progressing well.”

Accelerated facility construction on track

“Approximately 

15 to 20 acres 

of estuarine 

wetland, also on 

Carroll Island, 

dominated by 

phragmites, 

a common 

invasive reed, 

will be treated 

to eliminate the 

phragmites and 

to encourage the 

growth of native 

species.”

—Dr. James Bailey, 

Garrison Aberdeen 

Proving Ground 

Directorate of 

Safety, Health and 

Environment

Continued from page 1

George Kreshock of Worton, right, discusses 

environmental matters with Maryland 

Department of the Environment’s Butch Dye at 

an April public meeting in Chestertown on the 

mustard disposal project. MDE’s Ed Hammerberg, 

left, and Bill Schmidt, center, look on.

Photo by Nancy Hofmann
Edgewood Chemical Stockpile Outreach Office

1011 B Woodbridge Center Way

Edgewood, MD 21040

Reach

Questions about chemical emergency preparedness?

· Harford County: Mr. Doug Richmond, 410-638-4900

· Kent County: Ms. Sue Willits, 410-778-7458

· Baltimore County: Ms. June Utter, 410-887-5996

· Maryland Emergency Management Agency: 

 Mr. John Healy, 410-517-3632

· Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region III: 

 Mr. David Gilder/Mr. David Gingras/Mr. Landton Malone

 215-931-5724 / 215-931-5549 / 215-931-5592

· U.S. Army Garrison Aberdeen Proving Ground:

 Mr. George Mercer, 410-278-1147

· Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility: 

 Ms. Kathy DeWeese, 410-436-5253

Talk to the experts in your local community and at Aberdeen Proving Ground about the safeguards at the Aberdeen 

Chemical Agent Disposal Facility and the emergency preparedness planning program that is in place and exercised 

regularly. The Army, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and local emergency management agencies work 

as a team to help communities strengthen their abilities to respond to emergencies through improved facilities, 

equipment, planning, training and exercises. 

In addition to the agencies listed above, the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources, 

Department of the Environment, and Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems are also key participants in 

chemical stockpile emergency preparedness.