Nicholas Salvatore Capasso, a retired chemical engineer and volunteer, died of cancer Saturday at Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace. He was 82.

The longtime Bel Air resident began working at Edgewood Arsenal in 1962, where he supervised the development and disposal of chemical and biological munitions. He retired in 1981.

After retiring, he was a consultant to Foster-Miller Inc., a Waltham, Mass., engineering firm, and ITT Research Institute in Chicago.

Mr. Capasso was born in New York City and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he graduated from Manual Training High School. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Virginia Military Institute in 1943.

During World War II, he commanded Company B of the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion in Europe. He also served with occupation forces in Germany at the end of the war. He was recalled to active duty and served in Korea until being discharged with the rank of captain.

During the 1950s, he worked as a civilian chemical engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense. He also participated in the Army and Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear weapons testing in New Mexico, Nevada and Eniwetok and Bikini atolls.

Mr. Capasso volunteered with the American Red Cross and the Sexual Spouse Abuse Resource Center in Bel Air. He also assisted the elderly with the preparation of income tax returns under the auspices of the AARP in Harford County.

A world traveler, he was an avid golfer and member of the Maryland Golf and Country Club.

In 1943, he married Clio Maria DiNapolis, who died in 1981.

Mr. Capasso was a communicant of St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church, 533 E. Jarrettsville Road, Hickory, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 2 p.m. today.

Mr. Capasso is survived by two sons, Nicholas J. Capasso of Acton, Mass., and Michael R. Capasso of Havre de Grace; a sister, Gilda "Jeanette" Pisciotto of Oceanside, N.Y.; and three grandchildren.