SOCMA Renews Call For Permanent Security Standards

Published: 03-Mar-2010

The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA), in testimony to a key Senate panel, has again urged Congress to make the current risk-based chemical facility security standards permanent, or at least reauthorize the program until 2015.

Stephen Poorman, international EHS&S manager of Fujifilm Imaging Colorants, in remarks to a hearing before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, encouraged lawmakers to preserve the progress made under the current regulatory program.

Mr Poorman argued that Congress can assure the continued success of the existing program by passing S. 2996, the Continuing Chemical Facilities Antiterrorism Security Act, introduced by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), together with Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR), George Voinovich (R-OH), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

Specifically, the bill’s requirement of mandatory implementation of so-called inherently safer technology (IST) would shift DHS’s focus from securing our industry against terrorism to conducting engineering and chemistry assessments, while potentially phasing out legitimate products. He noted that, in contrast to the bipartisan Senate bill, the House version passed without a single minority vote and in spite of expert testimony advising against mandatory IST.

He said: “It is a wonder why IST proponents still support such a provision when there is so much uncertainty about the concept and how DHS could apply it – and during a historic economic recession in which our nation’s unemployment rate still stands at nearly 10%.

“Spending money to comply with new regulations necessarily causes companies to assess how they will pay for it. There isn’t much available capital these days for manufacturers to take on new regulations aimed at their very livelihood, especially small manufacturers.”

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