The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville’s Chemical Warfare Materiel Design Center located within the Ordnance and Explosives Directorate is the sole provider of environmental response activities that involve Chemical Warfare Materiel for the Army and Department of War. The CWMDC functions as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lead for environmental response actions and other activities that may involve CWM. Additionally, it serves as an adviser to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment for execution policy related to CWM issues.
Chemical Warfare Materiel Defined
CWM items are generally configured as a munition containing a chemical compound that is intended to kill, seriously injure or incapacitate a person through its physiological effects. CWM includes V- and G-series nerve agents or H-series (mustard) and L-series (lewisite) blister agents in other munition configurations. It also includes certain industrial chemicals such as hydrogen cyanide, cyanogens chloride or carbonyl dichloride configured as a military munition. CWM does not include riot control devices, chemical defoliants and herbicides, industrial chemicals not configured as a munition, smoke and other obscuration producing items, flame and incendiary producing items and soil, water and debris contaminated with low concentrations of chemical agents where no hazards exist.
Program Execution
CWMDC executes projects under the regulatory framework of both Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Projects span from environmental programs such as Formerly Used Defense Sites, Installation Restoration Program, Active Army Military Munitions Response Program and Base Realignment and Closures. Program requirements include preparing contract performance work statements and independent government estimates; overseeing the CWM safety and occupational health, technical and administrative aspects of the field work for design and removal actions; maintaining contract capacity for CWM design and response services; providing a safety specialist to all
site activities ensuring safety procedures are followed; providing technically qualified personnel to conduct CWM designs, investigation and remediation actions; retaining responsibility for all CWM site activities from the beginning to the destruction on-site or transportation including assessment and interim storage; and requests for support from other government agencies for CWM projects.
Program Partners
The CWMDC works with a variety of other government agencies in the program execution. These include the U.S. Army Materiel Command; Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, Explosives Analytical and Remediation Activity; Combat Capabilities Development Command – Chemical Biological Center; Recovered Chemical Warfare Materiel Directorate; Army Environmental Command; Air Force’s Engineering and Environmental Center; U.S. Army Technical Center for Explosive Safety and the DOW Explosive Safety Board.
Download the Chemical Warfare Materiel Design Center fact sheet HERE.