WASHINGTON, DC, June 23, 2008 -- The Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA) released the following statement in response to the announcement today by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it will begin notifying chemical facilities this week that some will be treated as regulated facilities in the context of security.
"SOCMA is pleased that DHS has successfully taken the next step within a regulatory process to secure chemical facilities according to risk under its Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act Standards (CFATS). This latest action by the Department publicly demonstrates the Department's firm commitment to securing the industry and fulfilling its Congressional authority.
"Since 2001, the chemical industry has poured millions of additional dollars into increasing the security of facilities. SOCMA is confident that most of its members falling under the regulated component will have less to do than other facilities. Our members, through our ChemStewards® performance improvement program and SOCMA Security Vulnerability Assessment Methodology, have worked to create and implement their own security plans, countermeasures and community action plans ahead of the DHS schedule."
SOCMA is the leading trade association, serving the specialty-batch and custom chemical industry since 1921.
ChemStewards® is SOCMA's flagship environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) continuous performance improvement program.
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