The US government is eager to restore powers to keep dangerous chemicals out of extremists' hands

abcnews.go.com:

When Congress returns this week, Homeland Security officials and those in the chemical industries will be watching to see if a program regulating the chemical sector will be on its agenda

WASHINGTON — The government is worried about the safety of chemical facilities across the country after its power to keep dangerous substances out of the hands of extremists lapsed a month ago.

The Department of Homeland Security has long had the ability to inspect facilities where chemicals are used or stored to make sure their security systems are in place. And the facilities themselves have been required to vet prospective employees for any terrorism links.

But the program, called the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, expired July 28 after Congress failed to renew it. Homeland Security officials say this left gaping holes in the country's national security, and they are calling on Congress to act quickly when it returns this week.

“The risk that terrorists could access and weaponize the dangerous chemicals produced in these facilities increases by the day,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told attendees at the Chemical Security Summit held in northern Virginia last week.

The program requires any facility that has a certain quantity of any of a long list of “chemicals of interest” to report the information to the Department of Homeland Security. The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, which falls under DHS, then determines whether the facility is considered high risk and therefore must develop a security plan. The agency assesses the plan to make sure it addresses things like physical security as well as cybersecurity, and then it does inspections to make sure companies are in compliance.

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