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U.S. Chemical Companies, Water Systems Show Security Improvement, GAO Report Says By Marina Malenic WASHINGTON — Recently revised safety standards have allowed some U.S. chemical companies and community drinking water systems to improve security against potential terrorist attacks, according to a report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (see GSN, March 2). In 2002, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA), two of the industry’s top trade associations, adopted security guidelines for their members. Under the code, members are expected to perform vulnerability assessments, update their security based on those assessments and undergo third-party verification of the improvements. Agency investigators found, however, that the number of facilities adhering to the guidelines is unknown. The study concluded, for example, that there are about 2,300 ACC and SOCMA members, 1,100 of which produce, use or store substantial amounts of highly toxic chemicals. There are about 15,000 such facilities nationwide in various sectors, according to the report. The water sector, meanwhile, has not generated an industry code, but instead is subject to the drinking water security and safety requirements of the federal Bioterrorism Act. As of February 2005, all community water systems that serve 50,000 or more people have submitted their vulnerability assessments, while 92 percent of smaller systems have done the same, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In a sampling of 10 chemical plants and eight community water systems, the GAO study found that eight chemical companies and all the water systems encountered obstacles in implementing the relevant security measures. Three of the chemical facilities reported troubles with the government in acquiring federal permits for fences and other perimeter security. An official at one facility said the company altered its planned fence line to avoid having to go through the permitting process. Investigators also found that six of the community water systems faced significant economic constraints in balancing consumer costs with the expense of security improvements. They said they needed federal money to make additional security measures, and three of the eight added that they faced difficulties in convincing employees to follow enhanced safety procedures, according to the study. Managers of eight of the 10 chemical facilities told investigators that they would prefer establishment of federal security rules for the entire U.S. chemical industry, the report says. Auditors made no recommendations in the GAO report, noting that the agency had previously offered suggestions in this sector. The Homeland Security Department concurred with the assessment but noted that the scope of the GAO study did not include other federal efforts under way to secure U.S. infrastructure, such as the Interim National Infrastructure Protection Plan (Government Accountability Office report, April 4).
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