Three suicide bombers driving chlorine-laden trucks struck Saturday in Iraq, killing as many as eight people and injuring 350 civilians and six U.S. soldiers.
The victims died from the explosion. But terrorists created the fear and panic they desired. People coughed and gasped for air. The gas caused skin irritation, burning lungs and vomiting.
Now, magnify a chlorine tanker truck into an entire chemical plant or oil refinery. Imagine the havoc. It could happen here in the United States.
"It is perplexing that a nation that has expended so much blood and treasure searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq would allow what could become their equivalent to sit largely overlooked on U.S. soil," retired U.S. Coast Guard officer Stephen E. Flynn testified Monday in Newark.
Flynn, now a Council on Foreign Affairs fellow, was one of a half-dozen witnesses who beseeched a U.S. Senate subcommittee to do more to harden American plants that use hazardous chemicals against the possibility of terrorist attack. Better security is years overdue.
Late last fall, the fiscal 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Act finally gave that department authority to regulate chemical plant security. But regulations developed so far allow industry too much flexibility.
Most worrisome, unless Congress intervenes, the rules could preempt stronger state regulations, such as those New Jersey added in 2005.
Last Friday, Gov. Corzine strengthened the toughest-in-the-nation standards for chemical manufacturers, refineries, paper mills, and water-treatment plants. Now, 94 of the highest-risk plants must consider substituting materials or equipment or altering processes to safeguard the public.
That's the kind of protection the whole nation deserves.
Instead, the federal regulations, due to be made final on April 4, read like dictation from industry lobbyists. They're limited in scope and narrow in powers. Although the industry has spent millions since 9/11 and taken useful precautions, its voluntary code of conduct isn't enough to assure uniform compliance.
Corzine said he would fight attempts to override New Jersey's rules - politically first; legally, if necessary.
"September 11th shocked us into the realization that our assets can be turned against us by terrorists," Corzine said in his written testimony Monday. "New Jersey's critical infrastructure concentration and high population density may have no comparison in the United States."
Federal records show that six New Jersey plants, including three in South Jersey, could endanger more than a million people if an attack or accident releases toxic chemicals. Bleach-maker Kuehne Chemical Co. in Hudson County could threaten as many as 12 million people.
Pennsylvania and Delaware, which need protection under the federal rules, have two "high-risk" plants each.
Terrorists have proven their creativity. They're constantly looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. It's time Congress shut off this avenue, with stricter chemical plant security rules.
