Chemical Facility Security
Chemical facilities continually rank among the most attractive targets for terrorists. An attack on a chemical plant in the United States would likely result in large-scale damage and terrible loss of life. On April 17th, 2013, an explosion at the West Fertilizer Company in Texas killed 15 people and injured almost 200 others. This terrible tragedy gave us a chilling look at the devastation that occurs when a chemical facility detonates.
To protect against potential catastrophe, in 2007 Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security to develop a set of vulnerability assessment standards for chemical plants, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. In February 2014, Homeland Security Committee Members introduced H.R. 4007 to reauthorize and make important improvements to be CFATS program. H.R. 4007 passed the House of Representatives on July 7 with overwhelming bipartisan support and is currently being considered in the Senate.