Steve Quayle News Alerts

March 20, 2003

WASHINGTON -- One day after the national terrorism alert was raised to the second-highest level, the US Congress warned that millions of Americans were bound to be severely hurt if terrorists pulled off successful attacks on just a few of 123 most dangerous chemical plants.

A report released on Tuesday by Republican Congressman Billy Tauzin, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives, also points out that despite all recent efforts to bolster homeland security, nobody paid serious attention to the ticking time bombs that the plants have become.
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'To date, no one has comprehensively assessed the security of chemical facilities,' complained the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress that conducted the probe.

The math is simple.

A total of 15,000 chemical plants scattered around the country produce, use or store 140 hazardous substances that could cause deadly harm to local populations if released into the environment, according to US government estimates.

Many of them are located in urban areas and could serve as targets for terrorists seeking to cause mass casualties.

In fact, an attack on any of the 123 most dangerous facilities could create 'worst-case scenarios' in which more than one million people would be at risk of exposure to escaping toxic gas, the GAO pointed out.

A further 700 plants, if attacked, could each potentially threaten at least 100,000 people in their surrounding areas, and yet another 3,000 plants would endanger at least 10,000 local residents, the investigators warned.

A study conducted by the US Army in 2001 found that it was conceivable that as many as 2.4 million people could request medical treatment if a terrorist caused a release of a toxic chemical.

The United Stated hiked its coloUr-coded terrorism threat level to 'orange,' or high, late ON Monday, after President George W. Bush issued an ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave the country within 48 hours or face a US-led invasion.

This is one notch below code 'red,' which reflects a severe terrorism threat.

The congressional report put in the hot seat Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, who was forced to parry tough questions when he met with reporters on Tuesday.

MR Ridge acknowledged that questions raised by Congress were 'legitimate' and said he had discussed them during his meeting with state governors on Monday.

But he denied nothing was being done to defend the chemical industry from terrorist attack.

'One of the areas where we are coordinating our efforts is enhanced security around these facilities in the days ahead,' MR Ridge said. 'And additional security measures will be taken.'

But Congressman Tauzin called the situation 'unconscionable.'

'It is time to develop a national strategy to combat the risks associated with chemical plants that lack adequate security,' he said in a statement. -- AFP

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