-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10616-2002Mar11.html
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Study Assesses Risk of Attack on Chemical Plant
By Eric Pianin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 12, 2002; Page A08
A previously undisclosed study by the Army surgeon general concludes that as many
as 2.4 million people could be killed or injured in a terrorist attack against a U.S.
toxic
chemical plant in a densely populated area.
The medical hazard threat assessment, completed less than a month after the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, suggests that terrorist assaults on
chemical industry complexes could result in twice as many casualties as previously
assumed in other worst-case scenarios envisioned by the government.
Even middle-range casualty estimates from a chemical weapons attack or explosion
of a toxic chemical manufacturing plant are as high as 903,400 people, according to
the analysis, a copy of which was obtained yesterday by The Washington Post.
Lyn Kukral, a spokeswoman for the Army's office of the surgeon general, said the
data were meant to be more illustrative than a precise casualty projection. But
officials used the casualty estimates during an internal government conference last
fall to plan medical responses to a broad range of terrorist scenarios.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, lawmakers, federal officials and environmental groups
have repeatedly warned the chemical industry that terror attacks could turn
hazardous-materials plants into weapons of mass destruction. Industry officials say
they have instituted important safeguards, but critics say much more is needed.
Yesterday, the Natural Resources Defense Council, a 400,000-member advocacy
group, filed a lawsuit in federal court charging that the Justice Department has failed
to submit a report to Congress on U.S. chemical plants' vulnerability to terrorist
attacks, as required by an amendment to the Clean Air Act.
The Justice Department missed an August 2000 deadline for filing an interim report,
and Bush administration officials have notified Congress that they will not meet an
Aug. 5 deadline for the final report because of inadequate funding.
"Chemical plants are an incredibly urgent priority for homeland security, but they are
being ignored at the highest levels of government," said Rena Steinzor, an attorney
at NRDC.
A Justice Department spokesman said yesterday that officials have not seen the suit
and were withholding comment.
Reps. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), senior members of
the Committee on Energy and Commerce, recently asked the General Accounting
Office to conduct a detailed review of chemical manufacturing plants'preparedness
for acts of terrorism.
According to an analysis last year by the Environmental Protection Agency, at least
123U.S. plants each keep amounts of toxic chemicals that, if released, could form
deadly vapor clouds that would endanger more than 1 million people.
The Army surgeon general's analysis, dated Oct. 29, showed that attacks on toxic
chemical plants or chemical stockpiles could produce more than twice as many
casualties. The study ranked the threat of attacks against chemical plants second
only to the widespread use of biological weapons, such as the introduction of a
smallpox virus or contamination of the country's water or food supply, which could
generate as many as 4.18 million casualties.
The study did not assess the potential casualties from a nuclear attack.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group and other environmental groups have
called for legislation to require operators of chemical facilities to reduce the
quantities
of hazardous chemicals stored at their sites or switch to safer materials.
The American Chemistry Council, an industry group, issued guidelines last fall
suggesting ways to improve physical security at facilities and protect the
transportation of hazardous materials. The council recently decided to require its
members to complete security studies and make necessary changes, using a
framework developed by the Justice Department.
Chris VandenHeuvel, a spokesman for the council, said the industry remains "one of
the safest manufacturing sectors in America" and is doing "everything feasible to
make the facilities as safe and secure as possible."
Staff writer Bill Miller contributed to this report.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
End<{{{~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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