Securing the Chemical Supply Chain
Koch, William
(Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.)
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LoginToday’s world seems less safe than ever before. Threats of terrorism and random acts of crime and violence make security more important than ever before – including in the chemical industry. Securing the chemical supply chain is necessary to protect employees, customers, contractors, first responders and the public. Following the events of 9-11 the American Chemistry Council (ACC) expanded its Responsible Care Code by adding a seventh code, the Security Code. This Code, which is a condition of membership contains 13 Management Practices to guide its 140 member companies through the complex process of accessing and strengthening the security of its operations. To date the 140 ACC companies have spent over three billion dollars on securing the manufacture, storage and transportation its chemical products. The ACC supported federal legislation to ensure that all chemical companies were taking security seriously. In October 2006 Congress passed legislation which gave the Department Of Homeland Security (DHS) regulatory authority for the security of the chemical industry in the United States. DHS published the new security regulation entitled the “Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standard” (CFATS) in April of 2007. This paper will review the history of security in the chemical industry since 9-11 by looking at what Air Products has done to secure its global supply chain. It will also provide and overview of the new DHS CFATS regulation for site security and discuss what else the government is doing relative to securing the chemical supply chain.