In terrorism fight, protecting chemicals is crucial
Chemicals are ubiquitous to our everyday lives. They are the key to developing medicines that maintain our health, providing refrigeration for our food supply, and building the microchip that runs the smartphone in your pocket. They are also — in the hands of a terrorist — weapons that could be used to kill thousands of Americans.
It was exactly that concern that prompted Congress in 2006 to establish the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program, known as CFATS, to reduce risk to the nation by better securing chemical facilities. In 2014, Congress reiterated the importance of this program by extending it for four years.
Since CFATS was established, more than 3,000 facilities have been identified as high-risk and have put security measures in place to protect their chemicals. More than 250 of these high-risk facilities are here in Texas, and DHS is onsite daily at facilities across the country making sure that security remains strong and facilities know what to do if there is an incident.
Supporting economic activity and keeping our workers safe are important missions that dovetail with our own but are covered by other portions of federal, state and local government. DHS’ mission is focused on helping facility owners and operators make sure they are protecting their chemicals from an adversary who may deliberately target them in order to attack the United States.
The threat to our nation from terrorism remains. In fact, the FBI has open terrorism investigations in all 50 states, and since 2013, there have been 37 ISIS-linked plots to attack our country. While we have not seen a mass casualty attack on American soil using chemicals in recent years, terrorists continue to demonstrate their deadly interest, attacking facilities overseas in Africa and Europe.
DHS helps prepare for and deter such attacks from taking place in the United States by working with facilities to make sure they understand what chemicals might be targeted and identifying ways to integrate security into their physical and digital infrastructure. In addition to CFATS, which is focused on the highestrisk facilities, we offer resources that any facility can voluntarily use, including trainings and security assessments.
This week, more than 500 experts in the field of chemical security have gathered in Houston to discuss how we as a nation are protecting our chemicals from terrorists. The Chemical Sector Security Summit, cosponsored by DHS and the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council, is one of the clearest examples of a private-public partnership in the interest of national security. Bringing the summit to Texas, home to a large segment of the chemical industry, is the next step in ensuring that discussion of this critical mission is not limited to Washington boardrooms but includes the men and women we aim to protect.
We cannot do this job alone, nor should we. Members of local communities, emergency responders and businesses around this country are an important part of the fight, and we look forward to their partnership. Congress also plays an important role as we work with them on the continued authorization of this critical security program. The United States is leading the world in chemical security, in large part thanks to the private-public partnership model that has allowed us to foster a culture of chemical security.
We must work together as a team, because the stakes could not be higher.