Chlorine gas factory, First World War. Industrial facility for manufacturing chlorine gas, for use in chemical weapons, at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, USA, during the First World War (1914-1918). The USA fought in the First World War from April 1917 up to the end of the war in November 1918. Use of chemical weapons (which began in 1915) had become routine by this stage. The US Army's Chemical Warfare Service was formed in June 1918, though the military work on chemical weapons had started in 1917. Before the war ended, over 10, 000 tons of toxic gases had been produced at the Edgewood Arsenal. Photographed by the Chemical Warfare Service in August 1918. |