Chemical industry threats

Chemical industry threats and incidents may be of particular concern due to the range of potential consequences ... 

Note This section is not designed to discuss what specific steps to take in responding to a contamination threat. Rather, the questions addressed in this section are Why is it necessary to plan to respond to chemical industry threats at all and When have I done enough ... 

Two years before the Anschluss the defendants were using the threat of Nazi arms to conquer the Austrian chemical industries. The foundation of Donau-Chemie in Austria had paved the way for further penetration into southeastern Europe. 

Again, it is important to point out that the chemical industry provides products and materials that are essential to the U.S. economy and to the so-called good life, the standard of living we presently enjoy. In addition to the economic consequences of a successful homegrown or foreign terrorist attack against chemical industry facilities, there is also the potential of a threat to public health and safety and the environment. 

Emergency response plans (ERPs) are nothing new to chemical industries, since many have developed ERPs to deal with natural disasters, accidents, violence in the workplace, civil unrest, and so on. Because chemical industries are a vital part and ingredient of our way of life, it has been prudent for chemical industries to develop ERPs in order to help ensure the continuous flow of water to the community. However, many chemical industry ERPs developed prior to 9/11 do not explicitly deal with terrorist threats, such as intentional fire, explosion, or contamination. Recently, the U.S. Congress and federal regulators have required chemical industries to prepare or revise, as necessary, an ERP to reflect the findings of their vulnerability assessment and to address terrorist threats. 

The chemical industry, more than any other industry, is perceived as a threat to humans, society, and the environment. Nevertheless, the benefits resulting from this activity cannot be negated health, crop protection, new material, colors, textiles, and so on. This negative perception is more enhanced after major accidents, such as those at Seveso and Bhopal. Even though such catastrophic incidents are rare, they are spectacular and retain public attention. Thus, a fundamental question is raised What risk does society accept regarding the benefits of an activity, of a product Such a question assumes that one is able-a priori-to assess the corresponding risk. 

The roles of the British and American chemical industries in the inter-war years were, overall, relatively limited ones until the threat of another war appeared in the mid-1930s. Then, as in the First World War, many calls were made upon the industry as the nations prepared to defend themselves, for Britain from 1939 and for the United States from 1941. 

As chlorine is the basis for the manufacture of nearly all chemical igents and is readily available in enormous quantites in industry, it will ivlways be a potential chemical-warfare threat against any nation whose... 

It is well known that the methods of elastic-plastic fracture mechanics provide more realistic models of cracked structures with high toughness compared with the methods of the linear elastic fracture mechanics. Ductile materials are used in structural elements not only in piping systems of power plants but in chemical industry, in aircraft propulsion systems and elsewhere [1-8], Evidently, cracked elements in chemical or power plants pose a serious threat to operation of these stmctures. Therefore, it is extremely important that the crack will not spread unstably through the pipe thickness. 

The chemical industry maintains the conclusions are hypothetical, at best, and show inconclusive evidence of harm. Fundamental to this defense is the rejection of the precautionary principle as a scientifically valid methodology and basis for policy. This principle advocates taking precautionary action when chemicals pose possible threats to human health and the environment, rather than waiting for complete scientific proof of cause and effect (see Tickner s article in Section 3.3.2). 

The possibility that what most people perceive as environmental chemicals - industrial products and by-products - are not large threats to human health does not necessarily lead us to the view that regulatory agencies are currently excessively regulating them. Several factors from our earlier discussions need to be recalled. 

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