The Bush administration is seeking to improve chemical plant security by having the industry trade organization, instead of the federal government, set appropriate standards, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, April 2).

The bill, being drafted by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the White House and the Homeland Security Department, will reflect the environmental policies that U.S. President George W. Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge followed when they were governors, Bush administration officials and activists said.  The bill is expected to be made public by the end of this month, the Post reported.

The White House proposal would have chemical plants adopt enhanced security measures created by the American Chemistry Council, sources said.  It would also require plants to conduct self-assessments of security vulnerabilities under a council-developed plan.

Chemical industry officials have said their plants are already safe and that intervention by Washington would amount to micromanagement. 

“Government commanding changes in our operations can create unintended risks,” said council spokeswoman Kate McGloon.  “Hazard reduction is inherent in everything we do,” she added.

A former security official for the chemical company Georgia-Pacific, however, has criticized the White House approach, according to the Post.

“Refusing to issue prescriptive standards essentially means the industry association is simply creating a smoke-and-mirrors exercise to make it appear that it is issuing bona fide standards,” Sal DePasquale, who was recently laid off by Georgia Pacific, wrote in a recent letter to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.  “It is not,” he added (John Mintz, Washington Post, April 8).

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