Chemical Security Legislation Needed

• By Rep. Loretta Sanchez
• Special to Roll Call
• Sept. 21, 2006, 4:01 p.m.

Five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, America is not nearly as secure as it should and could be. One of the areas with the most worrisome security gaps is the chemical industry. Large and potentially hazardous chemical plants operate all over the country, and at least 123 of those plants are located in such close proximity to population centers that a worst-case-scenario incident at those plants would expose more than 1 million people to toxins. Given the possibility for such disastrous consequences, most Americans probably assume that the Department of Homeland Security closely regulates the security of chemical plants. Unfortunately, they are wrong.