In Washington, D.C. on Thursday President Barack Obama signed an executive order designed to bring about greater safety and security at chemical facilities in order to protect workers as well as the communities which harbor such companies which manufacture and store dangerously noxious and explosive chemicals.
The executive order targets four areas of focus for the Federal government to address:
- Create better operational coordination between state, local and tribal groups. Such efforts include direct coordination between all parties, better understanding of the capabilities of first responders, development, training and implementation of updated emergency plans and greater public access to information.
- Create better coordination between Federal departments such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. Among other items, the order calls for the development of a pilot program which will use better method of storing and using data collected from facilities as well as from inspections and added data shared by various state, local, and private sector groups involved.
- Create better ways to collect and share data between all parties. The order calls for a database containing information on types and locations of chemical stored as well as transparency on transgressions a company or other party may have committed in the past.
- Create updated modern policies, standards and regulations and recommend possible legislation to be passed in order to create better safety and security at locations which manufacture and store chemicals.
One chemical specifically targeted by the executive order for better regulations on handling and storage was ammonium nitrate, the chemical commonly used as fertilizer which caused the April explosion at a fertilizer plant which leveled a vast area of the town of West, Texas. Ammonium nitrate is also commonly used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) due to its devastating explosive power.
An interdepartmental work group led by the Department of Homeland Security will oversee implementation of the executive order. Working with various local, state and federal government officials as well as with private sector leaders, workers, first responders, labor organizations, environmental groups, community groups and other interested parties the group will develop best practices in an attempt, as stated in the executive order, “to reduce safety risks and security risks in the production and storage of potentially harmful chemicals, including through the use of safer alternatives, adoption of best practices, and potential public-private partnerships.”
Other than various reports detailing various stages of implementation, after 270 days the group will present a status report to the President.
A White House fact sheet released in tandem with the executive order remarked, “Chemicals and the facilities that manufacture, store, distribute and use them are essential to our economy. However, incidents such as the devastating and deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas in April are tragic reminders that the handling and storage of chemicals present serious risks that must be addressed. While the cause of the Texas explosion is under investigation, we can take some common sense steps now to improve safety and security and build on Federal agencies’ ongoing work to reduce the risks associated with hazardous chemicals.”
