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History of ECBC
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center's (ECBC) science and technology expertise
has protected the United States from the threat of chemical weapons since
1917. Since that time, the Center has expanded its mission to include
biological materials and emerges today as the nation's premier authority
on chemical and biological defense.
ECBC Historical Timeline
1917
- The Bureau of Mines establishes the War Gas Investigations at American
University in Washington, D.C.
- President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that designated
Gunpowder Neck, MD, as the site for the first chemical shell filling
plant in the United States.
- The Bureau of Mines produces the first 25,000 gas masks for U.S.
Army soldiers during World War I.
1918
- The Gas Defense Service of the Medical Department produced an improved
mask, called the R.F.K. mask. Over 3 million of these masks were produced
during the war.
- The U.S. War Department creates the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) to include the Research Division at American University.
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Shell Filling Plant No. 1 became operational and 75mm chemical
filled shells were readied for shipping.
1920
- All chemical warfare functions were centralized at the Edgewood Arsenal,
including the CWS chemical school, research division, and gas mask production
factory.
1929
- Edgewood started development of a portable field laboratory to provide
frontline chemical analysis capability. The result was the M1 Field Laboratory,
standardized in 1936.
1932
1938
- Edgewood developed the M4 Decontaminating Agent (DANC) to counteract
chemical agents. Edgewood also developed a series of portable sprayers
designed to disseminate the decontaminating agents.
1941
1942
- Edgewood standardized the M4 Vapor Detector Kit, which could detect
faint concentrations of mustard agent using a new reagent that reacted
with mustard to produce an intense color change. All the components of
the kit were stored in a wooden box.
1957
- Edgewood standardized the U.S. Army’s first biological agent
sampling kit, the M17, which was designed to collect samples of contaminated
soil, air, and other materials for dispatch to an appropriate medical
laboratory for identification.
1958
- The first nerve agent detector and alarm, known as the M5 Automatic
G-Agent Fixed Installation Alarm, was standardized.
1959
- The riot control agent CS was standardized and used extensively
by both military and civilian police forces.
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To resolve problems associated with earlier masks that required
a separate canister, the M17 mask was developed in 1959, which eliminated
the need for a separate canister by placing filter material in the
cheek pockets of the mask.
1960
- DS2 Decontaminating Agent was developed. DS2 is effective against all
known toxic chemical agents and biological materials (except bacterial
spores) if sufficient contact time is allowed. DS2 is used with portable
decontamination equipment or can be applied with brooms and swabs. DS2
is still in use today.
1968
- Edgewood developed the M8 Portable Automatic Chemical Agent Alarm,
the first mass-produced field detector for nerve agents. This was a significant
accomplishment in chemical defense and this new fielded technology corrected
a major deficiency that had made U.S. soldiers vulnerable to a surprise
nerve agent attack.
1974
- Edgewood started development of the Biological Detection and Warning
System (BDWS) to meet a critical need for a field biological agent detection
system. The BDWS continued development until 1983.
1986
- Edgewood standardized the M157 Smoke Generator, which provided the
Army with its first mobile smoke generation capability.
1989
- The Bernard Berger Laboratory Complex was built. This laboratory provides
increased capabilities of non-surety defensive development work. It consists
of three interconnected buildings, and each has its own functional purpose
in carrying out research, development, and engineering for chemical defense.
1990
- During Operation Desert Shield in 1990, the Army issued the first
XM93 series Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) Reconnaissance Systems
(Fox). The XM93 Fox was a dedicated system of NBC detection, warning,
and sampling equipment integrated into a high speed, high mobility
armored carrier. The Fox was capable of performing NBC reconnaissance
on primary, secondary, or cross-country routes throughout the battlefield
and had the capability to find and mark chemical and biological contamination.
- Edgewood accelerated the delivery and limited fielding of the Army’s
newest mask (M40) to soldiers in the Persian Gulf. This mask is still
used today.
- In support of Desert Storm, Edgewood activated an Emergency Operations
Center as the focal point for operational and logistical inquiries
pertaining to chemical defense equipment.
1991
- The Process Engineering Facility, which is now known as the Bioengineering
Laboratory, was built. It is a research and development facility
dedicated to providing the Department of Defense with the equipment
and physical plant requirements for the research and production of
proteins, enzymes, antibodies, or other cellular products.
1994
- Edgewood standardized the M56 Motorized Smoke Obscurant System, known
as the “Coyote.” The Coyote was the first multi-spectral large
area smoke system to provide both visual and infrared obscuration on the
battlefield. The M56 Coyote is a motorized system mounted on an M1113
Expanded Capacity High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).
1995
- Edgewood type classified the first passive infrared detector of chemical
agents on the battlefield, known as the M21 Remote Sensing Chemical Agent
Alarm.
1996
- The M31 Biological Integrated Detection System (BIDS) was standardized,
providing the world’s first battlefield integrated biological detection
capability. The M31E2 BIDS, which includes a fully automated biodetection
system, began in-house production at ECBC in 2002 via a partnership with
Letterkenny Army Depot.
- At the direction of Congress, ECBC became the lead agency charged with
implementing the Domestic Preparedness (DP) Program to enhance the capability
of federal, state, and local emergency responders in incidents involving
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). This program provided training, exercises,
equipment and a variety of technical assistance which enhanced domestic
WMD response capabilities. The DP program put lifesaving knowledge and
skills into the hands of our nation's emergency responders and was used
as the blueprint for WMD response efforts across the country. It also
served as a springboard into the new business area of homeland defense
and opened the doors of many new start national defense preparedness programs
at ECBC.
- Edgewood developed alternative neutralization-based technologies for
the disposal of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile. These technologies
are currently being used to destroy bulk mustard and nerve agents.
1997
- Edgewood completed the Bernard McNamara Life Sciences Research Facility,
which was designed to gather life scientists into a modern
facility for cutting-edge research in chem-bio defense. The building was
dedicated to Dr. Bernard P. McNamara, a world-renowned toxicologist whose
federal career spanned 39 years.
1998
- Researchers at Edgewood developed multiple enzyme-based formulas that
effectively decontaminate nerve agents and organophosphorous pesticides.
1999
- Edgewood established the Critical Reagent Repository to store and validate
all immunological and DNA-based biodetection reagents for the Department
of Defense.
2000
- The Biological Attack Warning System (BAWS) was developed, providing
early warning of a biological warfare attack to a fixed installation.
Edgewood received an Army R&D Achievement Award in recognition of
this accomplishment.
- ECBC began work on the next generation of masks for all the U.S. services.
The XM50/XM51 Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM) is a revolutionary
advancement in protective mask technology, providing increased soldier,
marine, airman or sailor performance. The mask began production in 2006.
2001
- The Biosafety Level 3 (BL3) facility was completed in the McNamara
Life Sciences Laboratory, allowing researchers to safely work with
indigenous or exotic agents that may cause serious or lethal disease
as a result of exposure by inhalation.
2002
- Edgewood researchers and technology aid in the U.S. fight against
terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, various military and federal
departments have called upon Edgewood scientists for information
and guidance on CB defense issues. Technologies developed at Edgewood
such as protective masks, biological agent detectors, and decontaminants
were deployed to protect U.S. soldiers and civilians.
2004
- ECBC supported the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address
national defense issues such as building safety, rapid risk assessment,
and water security. As a result, two notable milestones were achieved:
the construction of the Water Test Loop and the discovery that an existing
medical sterilant that uses hydrogen peroxide would meet some of EPA's
building decontamination requirements. ECBC also used this sterilant to
provide DoD with a proven capability to decontaminate buildings and aircraft
through the use of a decontamination technology that uses hydrogen peroxide.
This technology was demonstrated effective against both biological and
chemical contamination.
- In a collaborative effort with the National Institute for Standards
and Technology and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health, ECBC developed CB standards for Air Purifying Respirators and
Escape Masks for civilian application. ECBC also tested numerous civilian
protective masks and clothing ensembles for efficacy against chemical
and biological agent exposure.
2005
- ECBC opened its new state-of-the-art Advanced Chemistry Laboratory,
a 75,000 square foot facility designed and equipped to conduct chemical
agent operations. These operations include analytical chemistry, chemical
weapons treaty support, filtration and decontamination technology development
and the evaluation of chemical agent detectors. A central feature of the
lab is the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance suites, where the properties and
effects of chemical threat materials are studied.
- Two ECBC projects received the Federal Laboratory Consortium's Award
of Excellence and transferred technology that benefited both the warfighter
and homeland security. The Biological Sampling Kit (BiSKit) provided
a more efficient and safe way to obtain environmental samples from
potentially hazardous contaminated sites. The Automated Decision Aid
System for Hazardous Incidents (ADASHI), a computer-based integrated
decision support system, provided the capability to combine technical
functions information with decision criteria for improved military
and civilian response to chemical, biological, radiological, and explosive
incidents.
2006
- In support of the Global War on Terrorism, ECBC rapidly developed and produced
Buffalo Mine Protected Clearance Vehicle (MPCV) training surrogates to aid in
training combat units for Improvised Explosive Device defeat missions. These
surrogates, M923A2 5-ton cargo trucks, were modified to simulate a Buffalo MPCV.
They have been integrated into pre-combat training programs at Fort Irwin, Fort
Polk, and Camp Beuhring.
2007
- This
year ECBC is celebrating its 90th Anniversary in conjunction with Aberdeen
Proving Ground. Over the past nine decades, we have provided numerous
battlefield enhancements to include smoke screening capabilities, collective
protection systems, chemical and biological detection and warning devices,
as well as new respiratory protection and decontamination equipment.
During the last decade, our defense efforts expanded to include domestic
preparedness, homeland security, and the current Global War on Terrorism.
Now, ECBC has partnerships with nearly every federal agency and has
truly grown into a national resource for chemical and biological defense.
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