A chemical catastrophe at any one of six New Jersey facilities could seriously injure or kill nearly one million people living in the area, according to a May 23 report by the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC). The report, Safety & Security First: Protecting Our Jobs, Families, and Hometowns from Toxic Chemical Disaster, concludes that chemical plant security must become a top priority for federal and state lawmakers. New Jersey is home to 110 facilities that have the potential to harm thousands of residents in the event of an accidental or terrorism-related worst-case chemical release. A worst-case chemical release from the most hazardous of these facilities, the Kuehne Chemical Company, located in Hudson County, could harm up to 12 million people in New Jersey and New York City. In the more than four years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the government has conducted a review of potential infrastructure vulnerabilities across the country, but has failed to act to remove these hazards from densely-populated areas. Currently, no federal law or regulation requires hazardous chemical facilities to review or use readily available alternatives to hazardous chemicals. Several federal lawmakers have introduced bills that would encourage facilities to use inherently safer technologies to reduce vulnerabilities:

• The Community Water Treatment Hazards Reduction Act of 2006 (S. 2855), introduced by Sens. Joseph Biden (D-DE), James Jeffords (I-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), would require high risk water facilities to choose among safer technologies to eliminate hazards posed by chlorine and sulfur dioxide gas. The bill currently has two cosponsors.
• The Chemical Security and Safety Act of 2006 (S. 2486), introduced by Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Barack Obama (D-IL), would require chemical facilities to thoroughly review and use safer technologies where practicable. The bill currently has six cosponsors.
• The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005 (S. 2145), introduced by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), would require high-risk facilities to develop vulnerability assessments, site security plans, and emergency response plans. Unfortunately, the bill fails to require any reporting on the use of safer technologies. The bill currently has five cosponsors.

The WEC report acknowledges the hundreds of New Jersey facilities that have moved to safer chemicals. Many of the state’s wastewater treatment facilities have either eliminated or significantly reduced their use of potentially lethal chlorine gas since 1988. Some progress on the national level toward safer technologies was reported on in last April's report Preventing Toxic Terrorism from the Center for American Progress that found approximately 284 facilities in 47 states had reduced risks to nearby communities from hazardous chemicals by switching to safer chemical processes or moving to safer locations. Many experts point out the need for a national program to encourage chemical facilities to become safer neighbors through the use inherently safer chemicals and technologies. A concerted national effort to convert high-risk facilities to safer chemicals and processes could protect millions of Americans. Effective chemical security legislation must also include public accountability provisions, so workers and fence-line communities can ensure that they are being protected.