Chemical plant securityIndustry wants current safety law extended rather than see it toughened
Before the House Homeland Security committee, Timothy J. Scott, the chief security officer of Dow Chemical Co., urged Congress permanently to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) bill; under CFATS chemical facilities are required to address a range of critical security concerns including protecting facilities against attacks and preventing the theft of dangerous chemicals; currently, more than 35,000 facilities that use or store chemicals are required to meet CFATS regulations; DHS has worked with facility owners to mitigate risks with custom developed security plans at more than 2,000 “high risk” sites
Before the House Homeland Security committee, Timothy J. Scott, the chief security officer of Dow Chemical Co., urged Congress to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) bill.
Scott testified on behalf of Dow Chemical and the American Chemistry Council(ACC) on the importance of CFATS.
He said, “CFATS is by far the most robust, comprehensive and demanding chemical security regulatory program to date. It takes a well-designed risk-based approach, sets a high bar through performance-based standards, and holds high risk facilities accountable for meeting those standards.”
Under CFATS, chemical facilities are required to address a range of critical security concerns including protecting facilities against attacks and preventing the theft of dangerous chemicals.
Currently over 35,000 facilities that use or store chemicals are required to meet CFATS regulations.
Developed in conjunction with ACC, businesses support the regulations as they do not feel that they are burdensome or hinder economic development.
According to the ACC, CFATS offers flexibility and minimizes its economic impact “by not dictating the implementation of specific measures, which allows facilities to take into account other important considerations, such as labor costs, managing energy consumption and ensuring worker safety when securing their facility.”
The chemical industry employs nearly 800,000 people and each year chemistry projects are involved in more than $500 billion worth of transactions in the economy.
Scott also noted that CFATS has been successful in mitigating risk and securing U.S. chemical supplies. He says that DHS has screened chemical facilities across the country and identified those at “high risk” of a terrorist attack.
So far DHS has worked with facility owners to mitigate risks with custom developed security plans at more than 2,000 “high risk” sites.
Scott concluded by urging Congress to maintain existing momentum and permanently reauthorize CFATS.
To date ACC members have invested roughly $8 billion in securing facilities under the Responsible Care Security Code, the voluntary industry created regulatory standard that was the precursor and model for CFATS.
