Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving Grounds) is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, 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 (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. As a result, the net change is a loss of 3,411 military jobs and a 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, chloropicrin and phosgene, 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, and common organophosphorus (OP) and carbamate pesticides) Mustard agent Nerve agent antidotes atropine and scopolamine Nerve agent reactivators (e.g., the common OP antidote 2-PAM chloride) Psychoactive agents (LSD, PCP, cannabinoids, and Agent BZ) Irritants and riot control agents Alcohol and caffeine