Chemicals
Chemical manufacturing and storage facilities are located in or near major cities throughout the U.S. To date the U.S. government has done nothing to mandate security proceedures for these facilities. The following are some recent media articles pertaining to this issue.
Terrorism fuels concerns about security at U.S. chemical sites
- July 17, 2005 - Denver Post
Government officials estimate that a terrorist attack on a facility such as an oil refinery or power plant upwind of Denver could kill up to 10,000 people.
Chemical plants still vulnerable, critics say
- July 13, 2005 - The Hill (The newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress)
Three years after a Senate panel unanimously passed a bill to create security standards for the nation's chemical plants, Congress has yet to agree to mandatory safeguards.
Report: Lethal chemicals stored near largest population centers (****)
- July 7, 2005
- CNN
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Experts call it one of the worst-case scenarios in a terror attack: a cloud of lung-melting gas or a toxic fireball ripping though a U.S. city. Potential casualties: 1 million or more.
Chemical Plant Risks Reassessed
- July 7, 2005 -
Chemical & Engineering News
Any of 2,500 plants may pose risks to at least 10,000 people from terrorist attack
DHS Acting Undersecretary Says Chemical Plant Security Measures Too Weak
- June 17, 2005
Counterterror experts put the chemical industry at the top of the list of likely terror targets. But congressional investigators have revealed spotty results in how well the chemical industry is prepared to respond in the event of an attack. About one-fifth of the nation's chemical facilities are close to population centers. Homeland Security has identified 297 chemical facilities where a toxic release could affect 50,000 or more people.
Chemical plants need more protection, official says
- June 14, 2005 - USA Today
WASHINGTON - The nation's chemical plants haven't done enough to protect themselves from terrorists, and the federal government must step in and require them to do more, a top Homeland Security official is expected to tell Congress Wednesday. "The existing patchwork of authorities does not permit us to regulate the industry effectively," according to written remarks to be delivered by Robert Stephan, a high-ranking aide to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
U.S. Plants: Open to Terrorists
- June 13, 2004 - CBS News
Almost three years after Sept. 11, chemical plants are still not subject to federal regulations when it comes to security.
"Serious Gaps" in Preparedness for Major Chemical Accident or Attack; Says Americans are "Vulnerable" (****)
- April 27, 2005 - U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazzard Investigation Board
In testimony today before the Senate homeland security committee, the chairman and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), Carolyn Merritt, said that serious gaps in preparations for major chemical releases – either accidental or from an attack – have left Americans vulnerable, and called for more to be done by chemical companies, emergency responders, communities, and the federal government in order to save lives and property.
Chemical Plants Vulnerable to Terrorist Attacks
- April 27, 2005 - MSNBC Nightly News
How bad is the problem? The Environmental Protection Agency says it found 123 chemical plants where a release would threaten more than 1 million people.
Efforts to Hide Sensitive Data Pit 9/11 Concerns Against Safety (****)
- March 5, 2005 - New York Times
Eyeballing the 51 Most Dangerous US Chemical Facilities Storing the largest amounts of extremely hazardous substances.