Chemical Plant Security Remains a High Priority Among Plant Owners and Neighbors

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The phrase "site hardening" has become common among chemical plant owners evaluating technology, staffing, resources, and equipment to secure and protect plant operations across North America. Even as the events of 9-11 came and passed, security has not taken a back seat in any plant budgets. It is estimated that several hundred of the more than 4,300 operational chemical plants located in North America continue to spend millions on site hardening campaigns.

Site hardening can include hiring independent contractors and firms to perform routine or random drug screening and reference checks. These services can be contracted to include multiple sites or entire corporations. In many cases, these services are offered with software and technology components that allow employers dynamic access to drug testing data and background checks on current or potential employees, maintained by third party vendors.

The conventional plant security methods of posting guards at primary plant entry points to register visitors and log employees has been greatly expanded to include armed security personnel at almost every plant gate and roaming guards on perimeter properties. The use of card reader systems is certainly nothing new and an increasingly large number of plant owners are implementing systems to track the entry and exit of all plant staff and vendors with the ability to deny plant access when appropriate. Some larger chemical and refinery plant locations that have hundreds of employees coming and going each day have implemented bus routes to transport employees from designated parking areas to within the plant boundaries as an increased safety measure. This type of change drastically decreases a plant’s vulnerability and limits the many risks presented by a large number of motor vehicles within the plant boundary.

Containing contractors and vendors to approved areas of the plant has increasingly become a focus. Temporary fencing that used to be associated with capital construction project activity is now commonplace in large maintenance turnarounds to allow contractors and plant visitors access only to areas of the plant relevant to their project or visit.

Video surveillance equipment is expensive, costing many plant owners millions to install remote cameras, motion detection devices, and related computer equipment. Considering most chemical plants cover several acres, and often hundreds of acres, the number of remote devices needed to adequately monitor the entire plant perimeter including large tanks and buildings with ladders can be enormous. Surveillance systems also require robust computer systems capable of recording and storing large amounts of images and video.

Site hardening activities can significantly increase plant operational costs, but are necessary to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences of a plant security breach. Nearly every chemical plant operates at least one process line, and many operate dozens, each with the potential to be a major environmental threat to its immediate area and neighbors if compromised. The large concentration of chemical plants along the Gulf Coast and in major cities across the country makes environmental security a priority for the industry. Plant owners continue to embrace information sharing among their peers as a way of safeguarding their assets for the benefit of the environment and the surrounding communities.

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Industrial Information Resources (IIR) is a Marketing Information Service company that has been doing business for over 22 years. IIR is respected as a leader in providing comprehensive market intelligence pertaining to the industrial processing, heavy manufacturing, and energy-related industries throughout the world.