United States Army Chemical Materials Agency The United States Army Chemical Materials Agency ( CMA ) is a major sub - command of the United States Army Materiel Command ( AMC ) and a reporting element of the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition , Logistics , and Technology . Its role is to enhance national security by securely storing and ultimately eliminating U . S . chemical warfare materiel , while protecting the work force , the public and the environment to the maximum extent . CMA leads the world in chemical weapons destruction with a demonstrated history of safely storing , recovering , assessing and destroying U . S . chemical weapons and related materials . CMA manages destruction of all U . S . chemical weapons stockpiles except for the two that fall under the Department of Defense Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives neutralization program . Through its Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program ( CSEPP ) , CMA works with local , state and federal emergency preparedness and response agencies at chemical weapon stockpile locations . The Army operates its disposal activities under congressional direction . Federal agencies and the independent National Academy of Sciences ' National Research Council , together with equivalent agencies at the state and local level , also are involved in regulation and oversight of aspects of the destruction program with the exception of fiscal management . History . The Army combined elements from the former United States Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command and the former Program Manager for Chemical Demilitarization to consolidate the Army ' s chemical agent and munitions storage and demilitarization functions under a single organization . CMA managed the U . S . chemical weapons stockpile at nine installations across the U . S . and had responsibility for chemical weapons disposal at seven of them . They were closed out in the following order : Organization . CMA headquarters is based at the Edgewood Area of Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland . CMA site teams are located at the individual stockpile locations where storage and destruction takes place . Only Pueblo , Colorado and Blue Grass , Kentucky still have weapons stockpiles which are managed by CMA although agent destruction will be handled by Program Executive Office , Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives . Closeout procedures are still occurring at some other locations . Destruction . CMA is responsible for two distinct chemical weapons destruction projects . The Project Manager Chemical Stockpile Elimination manages the safe treatment and disposal of chemical weapons using incineration and neutralization technologies . " Incineration " was selected as the Army ’ s chemical weapons disposal technology in 1985 based on rigorous tests and comparisons of various technologies . Anniston , Alabama , Pine Bluff , Arkansas , Umatilla , Oregon , and Tooele , Utah , use incineration for chemical weapons destruction . The first incineration facility was built on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean and safely completed destruction operations in November 2000 . The facility was dismantled and the atoll was returned to its natural state and serves as a wildlife refuge . " Neutralization " was first selected as an alternative to incineration for bulk agent storage sites . Depending on the type of agent to be destroyed , neutralization destroys the chemical agent by mixing it with hot water or hot water and sodium hydroxide . The industrial wastewater produced by the process , known as hydrolysate , is sent to a permitted commercial hazardous waste storage , treatment and disposal facility for treatment and disposal . This process was used safely in Edgewood , Maryland , to eliminate its entire stockpile of mustard agent and in Newport , Indiana , to eliminate its entire stockpile of VX nerve agent . Both the mustard agent stockpile in Edgewood and the VX nerve agent stockpile in Newport were stored in large steel containers without explosives or other weapon components . Neutralization is the selected method for the Department of Defense ’ s Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives facilities in Pueblo , Colorado , and Richmond , Kentucky . The Non - Stockpile Chemical Materiel Project ( NSCMP ) was founded in 1992 to provide centralized management and direction to the Department of Defense for the destruction of declared non - stockpile chemical materiel in a safe , environmentally sound and cost - effective manner . The project ’ s responsibilities include assessment and treatment of recovered chemical warfare materiel declared prior to entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention ( CWC ) , an international treaty signed by the United States . NSCMP ’ s non - intrusive assessment systems identify the chemical agent fill of recovered items and the presence or absence of explosive components , allowing for proper handling and treatment . The items can be treated in an on - site system that contains any blast , agent and vapor . NSCMP is best known for its history of responding to chemical weapons recovered at military installations , former defense sites and communities . NSCMP ’ s highly specialized equipment is employed in a manner that protects workers , citizens and the environment . In December 2006 , CMA successfully completed demolition of the nation ’ s former chemical warfare production facilities . In November 2007 , it successfully completed destruction of the binary chemical weapon inventory . In January 2012 , all chemical weapons had been destroyed at the 7 sites CMA had responsibility for , with 89 . 75 % of the U . S . ' s 1997 stockpile eliminated . Storage . CMA is responsible for the safe storage of the nation ’ s entire chemical weapons stockpile before its ultimate destruction . CMA manages a National Inventory Control Point and National Maintenance Point to ensure the stockpile is maintained safely and securely during its remaining storage life . CMA partners with the Department of Homeland Security through CSEPP to ensure effective emergency preparedness of the communities surrounding the stockpile storage sites . CSEPP provides funding for chemical accident response equipment and warning systems . CSEPP also oversees yearly community - wide emergency preparedness exercises at all of the stockpile sites and works with communities to conduct public education activities to enable residents to respond appropriately in the unlikely event of a chemical stockpile incident . International Cooperation . CMA is meeting its commitment as outlined in the 1997 CWC , which more than 180 nations have signed as their pledge to rid the world of this class of weapons . CMA also shares lessons learned through its reporting to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which is charged with implementing the CWC . Finally , CMA participates in the annual international Chemical Weapons Destruction Conference in which experts from CWC member nations share technology and lessons learned .