Chemical Security
EPA Likely to Require "Terror Checks" at Chemical Plants
Jun 10, 2002 by Guest Blogger
According to Associated Press reports last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may finally begin to require chemical plants to assess their vulnerabilities to a terrorist attack, and then take measures to reduce those risks.
read in fullHazard Reduction at Chemical Plants Equals Safer Hometowns
Mar 20, 2002 by Guest Blogger
The Safe Hometowns Initiative, a coalition of citizen groups, held press briefings and events in more than 20 states across the country on March 7 to warn that six months after the Sept. 11 attacks, millions of Americans remain at risk from possible terrorist attacks on chemical storage facilities.
read in fullPublic Still At Risk of Chemical Plant Attack
Mar 18, 2002 by Guest Blogger
The Washington Post reported last week that a previously undisclosed study by the Army surgeon general concludes that as many as 2.4 million people are at risk of being killed or injured in a terrorist attack against a U.S. toxic chemical plant in a densely populated area. This shocking number is twice as high as previous government estimates of possible casualties of a worst-case scenario involving terrorist attacks on chemical plants.
read in fullCoalition Calls for Reduction of Chemical Hazards
Mar 8, 2002 by Guest Blogger
The Safe Hometowns Initiative, a coalition of citizen groups, announced yesterday that six months after the Sept. 11 attacks, millions of Americans remain at risk from possible terrorist attacks on chemical storage facilities.
read in fullAttack on Risk Management Plans
Feb 22, 2002 by Guest Blogger
Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act requires the creation of Risk Management Plans to address prevention of chemical accidents. In particular, chemical facilities must identify and assess their chemical hazards and carry out certain activities designed to reduce the likelihood and severity of chemical releases. The law requires this information to be available to the public. According to EPA, “Using this information citizens will have the opportunity to work with industry to reduce risks to the community from chemical accidents.”
read in fullBenefits of Chemical Information Should not be Forgotten
Feb 22, 2002 by Guest Blogger
Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, EPA moved quickly to restrict public access to data on chemical facilities, fearing that it could be used by terrorists to zero in on a potential target. The agency is currently evaluating whether to repost this information to its web site, and according to EPA officials, is nearing a decision on the matter.
read in fullChemical Plants Fail to Cut Hazards as Concerns of Terrorism Grow
Feb 22, 2002 by Guest Blogger
For years, the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant, just outside of Washington, D.C., stored deadly chlorine gas in 90-ton rail cars. A rupture of just one of these rail cars would have put 1.7 million people at risk, covering the White House, Congress, as well as Bolling Air Force Base.
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