In late December, President Biden signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023, which contains language solidifying our nation’s commitment to comprehensively address chemical security threats and grants full legislative authorization to S&T’s Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC). The facility, based in my home state of Maryland, addresses mission priorities involving chemical threats by using scientific data and analysis to tackle current and future challenges.
Located on the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground, CSAC is the nation’s only federal laboratory dedicated to assessing threats associated with large-scale chemical incidents or acts of chemical terrorism by using studies, analysis, and knowledge management to inform emergency planning and response. CSAC is the embodiment of the special partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Army. The lab includes staff and facilities that produce benefits to the missions of both organizations without duplicating efforts. The recent opening of CSAC’s Chemical Security Laboratory is a hallmark of that mission kinship.