Editing Aberdeen Proving Ground (section)

==Edgewood Arsenal==
[[File:Chemical Warfare Service - Plants - Edgewood Arsenal - Panorama of Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland - NARA - 26424848 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|View of chemical plants, 1918]]
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 {{cvt|2756|ST|MT}} per month, and totaled {{cvt|10817|ST|MT}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ayres |first=Leonard P. |title=The War with Germany |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027816820 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |edition=Second |date=1919 |location=Washington, DC |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924027816820/page/n84 79]&80 }}</ref>

The Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground is approximately {{convert|13000|acres}} or {{convert|20.31|sqmi}}. 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.<ref name="EPA" />

===Human experiments===
{{Main|Edgewood Arsenal human experiments}}

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.<ref name="VA">{{cite web |url=http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/edgewood-aberdeen/index.asp |title=Edgewood / Aberdeen Experiments |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 1, 2013 |website=VA Public Health Military Exposures |publisher=United States Department of Veterans Affairs |access-date=October 1, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213028/http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/edgewood-aberdeen/index.asp |archive-date=October 4, 2013 }}</ref>

The agents tested included chemical warfare agents and other related agents:<ref name="VA" />
* Anticholinesterase nerve agents ([[VX (nerve agent)|Agent VX]], [[sarin]], and common [[Organophosphorus compound|organophosphorus]] (OP) and [[carbamate]] pesticides)
* [[Mustard agent]]
* Nerve agent antidotes [[atropine]] and [[Hyoscine hydrobromide|scopolamine]]
* Nerve agent reactivators (e.g., the common OP antidote [[2-PAM chloride]])
* Psychoactive agents ([[LSD]], [[Phencyclidine|PCP]], [[cannabinoids]], and [[3-quinuclidinyl benzilate|Agent BZ]])
* Irritants and riot control agents
* Alcohol and caffeine

During the week of July 14, 1969, personnel from [[Naval Applied Science Laboratory]] in conjunction with personnel from [[Limited War Laboratory]] conducted a defoliation test along the shoreline of Poole's Island, Aberdeen Proving Ground using [[Agent Orange]] and Agent Orange Plus foam.<ref>{{Cite report |date=May 25, 2012 |title=Information from Department of Defense (DoD) on Herbicide Tests and Storage outside of Vietnam |url=http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/agentorange/dod_herbicides_outside_vietnam.pdf |publisher=Department of Veterans Affairs |page=5 |access-date=December 2, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611133859/http://www.publichealth.va.gov/docs/agentorange/dod_herbicides_outside_vietnam.pdf |archive-date=June 11, 2014 }}</ref>

The [[Gunpowder Meetinghouse]] and [[Presbury Meetinghouse]] located within the grounds of Edgewood Arsenal are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a }}</ref>