Event Briefing: Chemical Warfare & Infectious Disease Preparedness

HSP Summer Associate, Jackson Cherner recently attended two events in Washington, D.C. relating to health security. Below are his key take-away messages from each:

June 12, 2018

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Gov. Affairs

Roundtable Discussion – Examining the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Program

Background: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs recently convened for a hearing concerning the reauthorization of CFATS, or the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program. The program is reauthorized every four years and is designed to reduce the risks associated with chemicals used for commercial purposes that otherwise raise dual-use concerns. The DHS implemented CFATS in 2006 to integrate inspections of chemical facilities and align different agency interests under specific security measures to prevent certain materials from falling into the wrong hands. Along the path, numerous additions were fitted into CFATS, such as initial risk assessments, also known as “top screens” in 2007 and the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Act of 2014, which established new guidelines for personnel monitoring, reporting mechanisms, and criteria for tiering at each facility. Overall, CFATS and the DHS mission of chemical safety and the reduction of terrorism is crucial to America’s national security and the nonproliferation of chemical materials across the globe.

Key Take-Home Points: The committee asked panelists (ranging from government to corporate entities) to gauge the effectiveness of CFATS, while also pointing out any discrepancies in the program that might be worth updating during this reauthorization cycle. Panelists, such as Christopher Currie, the Director for the Homeland Security and Justice Team at GAO, wanted to fix the level of access first responders have at facilities to ensure they are properly trained to handle a potential crisis. Other panelists echoed this concern, as many facilities are in rural areas and first responders are more than likely volunteers, leaving gaps in the knowledge of certain facilities and safety standards concerning chemicals in their own backyard. Additionally, there was a great concern for the lack of cyber training provided by the DHS for inspectors. Jesse LeGros, the Vice President of Infrastructure Protection at AFGE National Local #918 and a DHS inspector, highlighted this inefficiency and noted that general inspectors tasked with assessing facilities with partial cyber capabilities are left to their own discretion and the recommendations of the facility itself to assess whether the facility can cope with cyber-attacks. Cyberterrorism and its impact on infrastructure, particularly industries involving hazardous materials such as chemical agents, was pushed as a top priority, but Chairman Ron Johnson assured the panel that cyberterrorism would be better handled under a separate program rather than compounding cyber duties with general inspections.

Chairman Johnson ultimately helped to narrow down the panel’s concerns on CFATS to a few major concerns. First, he addressed the reasons behind the lack of exemptions for explosives from CFATS under DHS, which was due to the lack of coverage of explosives by other agencies, such as ATF, who didn’t have procedures for regulating precursors and other chemicals used in explosives. Second, he addressed the complications with the lack of transparency in the tiered ranking system for chemical facilities, to which he said should be revised if it remains a problem to industry actors. Third, he noted that William Erny’s proposal for a CFATS recognition program would be beneficial, as it would provide credentials and a self-certification model for those facilities who consistently met the standards outlined by CFATS. Lastly, he addressed that despite DHS collaboration with the industry itself, CFATS could benefit from greater coordination amongst federal, state, and local organizations to prevent the duplication of regulations, which are a hassle for companies, and to ensure that there is proper training and “no fault” reporting mechanisms in place so everyone is on the same page. Overall, CFATS has been working properly according to the panel, and the industry has been pleased with DHS’s responsiveness to their concerns but requires minor tweaks in its regulation and more long-term authorizations to be more effective.

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