Security at chemical plants across the United States is something that has drawn the attention of plant owners, communities, and government and industry groups consistently for years. Despite considerable attention from each of these groups and significant progress by most chemical plant owners to harden their plant sites in recent years, no permanent or long-term regulation has been implemented. Congress is expected to once again address the subject this year.
Among the biggest subjects to debate and be decided upon is whether controls and standards are established to be enforced unilaterally across the country for the industry or to allow individual states the ability to establish and enforce security standards independently. Allowing each state the reins to set its own guidelines could be costly for plant owners that would inevitably be forced to meet additional or secondary federal standards. Many industry groups and chemical plant owners alike accepted Department of Homeland Security site security measures currently in progress or completed and wish to see these standards adopted as permanent.
Among the greatest concerns of the Chemical Processing Industry is the potential for additional standards or enforcement that require process or technology changes that could be costly – if not impossible – to implement in some cases. Process and technology changes create a multitude of problems, not the least of which is the requirement to spend capital dollars at a time when budgets are extraordinarily thin because of the global economic slowdown. In some cases, eliminating the use or quantities of certain feedstock would make producing some commodities unfeasible or cost prohibitive. These types of changes get away from the original intent of hardening chemical plant site security through controlling access, monitoring people and resources, and identifying safety procedures around the handling of certain chemicals in transit or storage.
The chemical industry, especially owners of the very large petrochemical sites, has spent millions annually to ensure the security of plants against terrorist threats. This has become a significant part of the annual capital budget for many plant owners, who have engaged third-party companies to verify employment backgrounds, drug testing, security guards and many other contracted services.
Very few plant owners object to additional measures that ensure the most secure site possible, and many agree that the most effective and affordable way to achieve this is to have a clear and actionable list of priorities being carried out in unison by the industry as a whole, and not in part by a varying level of government or technology requirement.
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