Security is lax in chemical industry

Many businesses are slow to increase security despite the Sept 11 attacks.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Chemical companies, which had been criticized for lax security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, have been increasing security, according to a newspaper report.
But the chemical companies making strides tend to be larger corporations which may rely on smaller businesses for materials -- and those smaller companies may not have increased security, according to a report by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in Sunday's editions.
"The chemical industry is highly integrated," said Lawrence Stanton, a top security chief at BASF Corp. in New Jersey. "One guy's plant goes down, then another and then another. We're that interrelated."
While strides have been made, including the use of armed guards and protecting storage tanks with barbed wire, more work needs to be done, according to terrorism experts and chemical executives who gathered at the Chemical Security Summit in Philadelphia last week.
Why change is slow
They said change is slow because the chemical industry favors incremental rather than sweeping reform. Also, the lagging economy has meant there is little money to spend on security.
"It's hard to get business people to spend money on security," said former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, a Republican who chairs the federal Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction. "It doesn't seem that the immediate chances of you being attacked are very good. But an attack against this industry is very probable."
"You've heard about sarin and other chemical weapons in the news. But it's far easier to attack a rail car full of toxic industrial chemicals than it is to compromise the security of a military base and obtain these materials," said FBI Special Agent Troy Morgan, a weapons-of-mass-destruction specialist.
U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., has introduced legislation to reform chemical site security.
"Without federal requirements, I don't think much will be done about security and safety in this industry. The chemical industry suffers from low profit margins, and they're really getting socked by high natural gas prices, and that's also kept them from investing more in security," Corzine said.
"That said, I think it's particularly outrageous that some companies still haven't stepped up security since 9/11. ... I worry that the only way some people will take this issue seriously is when a plant is hit by terrorists."
Other industries
Other industries have been better at addressing security, Corzine said.
Water treatment plants are required to develop security plans under federal legislation and trucking and shipping firms have implemented security reforms.
For instance, Schneider National Bulk Carriers in Pittsburgh monitors cargo by satellites, uses armed guards and uses special locks to deter people who would try to uncouple hazardous material shipments.
If a truck was hijacked, Schneider would also shut its entire fleet of 15,000 trucks until the truck was found.
"A lot of people had been doing things the same way for many years, and they were reluctant to make changes," said Joe Kizaur, Schneider's safety and security director.
"But you can't wait for something to happen before you spend money. It's more like an insurance policy."
Last year, an investigation by the newspaper found lax security at several dozen chemical facilities around Pittsburgh and in Baltimore, Chicago and Houston.