Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen,
Harford County Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...
, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at APG.

There are 11 major commands among the tenant units, including: *

United States Army Communications-Electronics Command The Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) is a Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) of the United States Army based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, United States. It is one of four such commands under the Army Materiel Command (AMC) ...

(CECOM) * United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) * United States Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) * Edgewood Arsenal * Adelphi Laboratory Center **The Army Reserve Information Operations Command **Unified Cross Domain Services Management Office **HQ, U.S. Army Contracting Command (Army Contracting Command –APG, Adelphi Contracting Division) **U.S Army 93rd Signal Network - Network Enterprise Center **Logistics Readiness Center **U.S. Army Cyber Operation Group – 335th Signal Command **Blossom Point Research Facility

History

APG is the U.S. Army's oldest active proving ground, established on 20 October 1917, six months after the U.S. entered World War I. The planning and construction were overseen by Brigadier General Colden Ruggles, who later served as the Army's Chief of Ordnance. Its location allowed design and testing of ordnance materiel to take place near contemporary industrial and shipping centers. The proving ground was created as a successor to the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, which was too small for some of the larger weapons being tested. At the peak of World War II, APG had billeting space for 2,348 officers and 24,189 enlisted personnel.

Prompt critical excursion

Aberdeen was home to the Army Pulse Radiation Facility Reactor, in 1968. On 6 September 1968, this reactor was the site of a prompt critical excursion during commissioning tests. This accident harmed no personnel but did release enough heat to reach the melting point of the fuel in the core, 1150°C. This caused damage to the fuel components of the reactor, fusing the four central rings together. This is one of thirty-three prompt critical accidents worldwide, between 1949 and 2000.

Base Realignment and Closure program

Under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program, as announced in 2005, the APG is projected to lose the Ordnance School and associated R&D facilities with 3862 military and 290 civilian jobs moving to Fort Lee, Virginia. APG will gain 451 military and 5,661 civilian jobs from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. There is a net loss of 3,411 military jobs under BRAC and a net gain of 5,371 civilian jobs.

Edgewood Arsenal

Although civilian contractors produced the major portion of conventional munitions for World War I, the United States government built federally owned plants on Aberdeen Proving Ground for the manufacture of toxic gas. These poison gas manufacturing facilities came to be known as Edgewood Arsenal. Edgewood Arsenal included plants to manufacture

mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...

, chloropicrin and

phosgene Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, espe ...

, and separate facilities to fill artillery shells with these chemicals. Production began in 1918, reached per month, and totaled of toxic gas manufactured at Edgewood Arsenal before the November 1918 armistice. Some of this gas was shipped overseas for use in French and British artillery shells. The Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground is approximately or . The Edgewood area was used for the development and testing of chemical agent munitions. From 1917 to the present, the Edgewood area conducted chemical research programs, manufactured chemical agents, and tested, stored, and disposed of toxic materials. From 1955 to 1975, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conducted classified medical studies at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of low-dose chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing and pharmaceuticals. About 7,000 soldiers took part in these experiments that involved exposures to more than 250 different chemicals, according to the Department of Defense (DoD). Some of the volunteers exhibited symptoms at the time of exposure to these agents but long-term follow-up was not planned as part of the DoD studies. The agents tested included chemical warfare agents and other related agents: * Anticholinesterase nerve agents ( Agent VX,

sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB G-series, "B"">Nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for Nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic synthetic organophosphorus compound.organophosphorus (OP) and

carbamate In organic chemistry, a carbamate is a category of organic compounds with the general formula and structure , which are formally derived from carbamic acid (). The term includes organic compounds (e.g., the ester ethyl carbamate), formally o ...

pesticides) * Mustard agent * Nerve agent antidotes

atropine Atropine is a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication used to treat certain types of nerve agent and pesticide poisonings as well as some types of slow heart rate, and to decrease saliva production during surgery. It is typically given i ...

and

scopolamine Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or Devil's Breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is formally used as a medication for treating motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting ...

* Nerve agent reactivators (e.g., the common OP antidote

2-PAM chloride Pralidoxime (2-pyridine aldoxime methyl chloride) or 2-PAM, usually as the chloride or iodide salts, belongs to a family of compounds called oximes that bind to organophosphate-inactivated acetylcholinesterase. It is used to treat organophosp ...

) * Psychoactive agents ( LSD, PCP, cannabinoids, and Agent BZ) * Irritants and riot control agents * Alcohol and caffeine During the week of July 14, 1969, personnel from

Naval Applied Science Laboratory A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

in conjunction with personnel from

Limited War Laboratory Limited may refer to: Arts and media *''Limited Inc'', a 1988 book by Jacques Derrida *Limited series (comics), a comic book series with predetermined length Businesses *Limited Brands, an American company - owners of Victoria's Secret, Bath & Bo ...

conducted a defoliation test along the shoreline of Poole's Island, Aberdeen Proving Ground using

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

and Agent Orange Plus foam. The

Gunpowder Meetinghouse Gunpowder Meetinghouse is a historic Methodist church located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Harford County, Maryland. It is a one-room brick structure that may date to 1773. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The Na ...

and

Presbury Meetinghouse The Presbury Meetinghouse is a historic Methodist church located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Harford County Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel ...

located within the grounds of Edgewood Arsenal are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Other component locations within Aberdeen Proving Ground

Other parts of APG not attached to the main installation include the

Churchville Test Area The Churchville Test Area is a United States Army facility of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, located northeast of Bel Air, Maryland (in Harford County, Maryland, U.S.). The Churchville Test Area () is a hilly set of cross-country road test tracks pr ...

Harford County Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

, and the

Carroll Island Carroll may refer to: People * Carroll (given name) * Carroll (surname) * O'Carroll, also known as Carroll, a Gaelic Irish clan * Mac Cearbhaill, anglicised as Carroll, a Gaelic Irish clan * Charles Carroll Webster (1824-1893), American lawye ...

and Graces Quarters in Baltimore County, Maryland. The Churchville Test Area is a test track with hills that provide steep natural

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

and tight turns to stress engines, drivetrains, and suspensions for army vehicles, including M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and Humvees. The eastern half of Carroll Island was used as a testing location for open air static testing of chemical weapons since the 1950s. During tests of chemical agents and other compounds at Carroll Island, Maryland, from July 1, 1964, to December 31, 1971, nearly of chemicals were disseminated on the test area including of irritants, of anticholinesterase compounds such as the nerve gasses Sarin and VX, and of incapacitants such as LSD. Simulant agents, incendiaries, decontaminating compounds, signaling and screening smokes, mustard, and herbicides were also released as well as riot control gasses. The test sites consisted of spray grids, a wind tunnel, test grids, and small buildings. Edgewood Chemical Activity is a chemical-weapons depot located at APG. Elimination of the chemicals held here was put on an accelerated schedule after the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, and all chemical weapons were destroyed by February 2006. Fort Hoyle was established on October 7, 1922, and was created from a portion of the Edgewood Arsenal. Named for Brigadier General

Eli D. Hoyle Eli DuBose Hoyle (July 19, 1851 – July 27, 1921) was a brigadier general in the United States Army. He is most noted for his command of the port of embarkation at Governor's Island in New York Harbor during World War I, for which he received t ...

, who had commanded the 6th Field Artillery Regiment, the post was home to Headquarters, 1st Field Artillery Brigade (1922 to 1939), the 6th Field Artillery Regiment (1922 to 1940), the 1st Ammunition Train (1922 to 1930), and the 99th Field Artillery Regiment (minus 2nd Battalion) (1940 to 1941). Fort Hoyle was officially disestablished as a separate military post when it was reabsorbed by Edgewood Arsenal on September 10, 1940. The U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Museum previously located at APG, was moved to Fort Lee, Virginia, as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act.

Geography

APG is located at and occupies a land area of . Its northernmost point is near the mouth of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

, where the river enters the Chesapeake Bay, while on the south, it is bordered by the Gunpowder River. The installation lies on two

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

s separated by the Bush River. The northeastern is known as the ''Aberdeen Area'' and the southwestern is called the ''Edgewood Area'' (formerly the ''Edgewood Arsenal''). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (5.09%) is water.

Demographics

For statistical purposes the base is delineated as a census-designated place ( Aberdeen Proving Ground CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau. As of the 2020 census, the resident population was 1,668.

Contamination

The Edgewood area of the Aberdeen Proving Ground site was proposed to the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites requiring long term remedial action on April 10, 1985. The site was formally added to the

National Priorities List The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protec ...

on February 21, 1990. The Edgewood area has large areas of land and water and numerous buildings that are contaminated or suspected of contamination. Virtually all the land areas of the site contain contaminated or potentially contaminated sites and potentially buried ordnance. Substances disposed of in the area include significant quantities of napalm, white phosphorus, and chemical agents. On-site surface waters include rivers, streams, and wetlands. Edgewood area standby water supply wells in the Canal Creek area previously served approximately 3,000 people. The wells have been abandoned. The Long Bar Harbor well field of the County Department of Public Works and the well field used by the Joppatowne Sanitary Subdistrict serve 35,000 people within of the site. On-site groundwater sampling has identified perchlorate, various metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and chemical warfare agent degradation products. On-site soil contamination sampling has identified various VOCs, metals, and unexploded ordnance in surface and subsurface soil. On-site surface water sampling has identified various metals, pesticides, phosphorus, and VOCs. People who accidentally ingest or come in direct contact with contaminated groundwater, surface water, soil, or sediments may be at risk. The area is a designated habitat for bald eagles.

Controversies

A scandal at the APG surfaced in 1996. The U.S. Army brought charges against twelve commissioned and non-commissioned male officers for

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

of female trainees under their command. Following campaigning by

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and other organizations, the U.S. military announced in 2011 that it was replacing its use of monkeys in the Army's nerve-agent attack training courses with human simulators and other non-animal teaching methods. The training drills had been carried out on vervet monkeys and conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

References

External links

* *

Global Security

Global Security

* *
Defense Commissary Agency
{{coord, 39.473451, -76.140837, type:landmark_region:US-MA, display=title United States Army posts Military installations in Maryland Proving grounds Military Superfund sites Superfund sites in Maryland Aberdeen, Maryland Buildings and structures in Harford County, Maryland Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland 1917 establishments in Maryland Maryland populated places on the Chesapeake Bay Military installations established in 1917