Dear Readers:
Following this past year's horrendous hurricane season, the local waterways in Martin County, FL are littered with sunken vessels, creating a real safety issue for boaters. The county, not wanting to wait for money from the federal government, is removing these obstructions at its own expense, hoping FEMA will come through with funding at a later date. Sometimes, waiting for government to mandate or issue funding to pay for safety is not in the best interest of parties involved. Such is the case with the chemical industry in the U.S.
The business of chemistry is a $460 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation’s economy. It is the nation’s largest exporter, accounting for ten cents out of every dollar in U.S. exports. The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the companies that manufacture 90% of the basic industrial chemicals manufactured in this country. Earlier this year, the ACC reiterated its longstanding support for federal chemical security legislation. However, without waiting for government action, several years ago ACC members imposed on themselves a mandatory, comprehensive security program – ACC’s Responsible Care Security Code. As a result, all ACC member facilities have completed rigorous security vulnerability assessments and are undergoing addressing the appropriate security enhancements deemed necessary.
On the advice of the FBI, ACC does not provide information on security actions at specific facilities. It does, however, offer information on the types of security measures members are implementing in general. According to ACC, member companies are taking aggressive steps to implement effective, risk-based security measures to secure their facilities. Specific measures vary from site to site depending on the site characteristics and the current level of security processes in place. All facilities are expected to address certain categories – access control, perimeter control, surveillance, employee training, and response planning, to name a handful. Companies also have contingency plans in place to respond to specific threats to facilities, geographic regions, and specific products they manufacture.
The ACC’s Responsible Care Security Code is a state-of-the-art security management system to address site, transportation and cyber security. The Code is mandatory for all ACC members. This program requires companies to: assess security to identify any gaps in physical security and security procedures; develop and implement security enhancements to fill those gaps and address risks; verify security enhancements through independent, third parties; conduct regular audits to assess the efficacy of security programs; and, commit to continuous assessment and improvement of security. Check out this issue for more examples of the security measures being taken in other hazardous environments.
