“Chemical facilities are natural terrorist targets and we need to do all we can to improve security at these vulnerable sites," Shays explained. “We need to be smart about our approach. The bill we have introduced requires the Department of Homeland to establish measurements to determine which chemical plants are at risk and requires the chemical facilities to conduct risk assessments and create response plans based on those assessments. If they do not do the job to make sure their plant is safe, we would give the Department of Homeland Security the ability to penalize them or shut them down. The bottom line is, if they aren’t safe, they shouldn’t be in business.”

"The Environmental Protection Agency has discovered that more than 1 million people would be at risk if chemicals were released from any one of 123 chemical plants around the country. The threat is too great to ignore," said Langevin. "Our legislation takes a common-sense approach that allows the Department of Homeland Security to be proactive in safeguarding those who work in and live around chemical facilities. We know where our vulnerabilities lie and this legislation makes a firm commitment to addressing those vulnerabilities."

The Shays/Langevin Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish risk-based criteria to determine which chemical facilities are vulnerable to terrorist attack and establish security standards for those facilities. Chemical plant facilities would be required to conduct vulnerability assessments and create site security and emergency response plans based on their specific vulnerabilities, subject to approval by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Facilities that fail to comply with the security standards would be subject to fines and penalties. In addition, the bill gives the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to shut down high-risk chemical facilities that the Secretary believes have not adequately addressed the risk of a terrorist attack.