Chlorine gas shipped to municipal water treatment facilities could be terrorist target

Monday, September 03, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: chlorine gas, terrorism, public safety

(NewsTarget) A report by the nonprofit research group Center for American Progress (CAP) has identified the chlorine used by water treatment plants as a major national security vulnerability. In a report released on the same day as the Department of Homeland Security's new chemical security rules -- rules that exempt water treatment plants -- CAP noted that a single leak on a railcar transporting chlorine in the Dallas-Fort Worth area could place the health of nearly 10 million people at risk.

"We're continuing to ignore this vulnerability ... and millions and millions of people are in danger as a result," said CAP's Regulatory and Information Policy Director Reece Rushing.

The railroad industry agrees, and is lobbying the government to mandate alternatives to toxic chemicals. According to Edward R. Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads, the industry would refuse to transport chlorine if not required to do so by federal law.

The CAP report, "Toxic Trains and the Terrorist Threat," reviewed 62 drinking and wastewater treatment plants nationwide. Report author Paul Orum praised plants that make their own chlorine on-site, thus cutting out the need for rail shipments. But other chlorine critics have pointed to the fact that no matter where it is produced and stored, the toxic gas poses a serious health and safety risk.

According to a 2006 report by the Homeland Security Council, the explosion of a chlorine gas tank in a highly populated area could lead to 17,500 deaths, 10,000 severe injuries and one million hospitalizations. There are approximately 100 water treatment plants across the United States that store enough chemicals to harm 100,000 people.

Utilities claim that they have not switched away from chlorine because it is the cheapest water treatment method. In response, some groups such as Environmental Defense want the federal government to provide economic assistance to help utilities adopt safer alternatives -- such as liquid bleach, ultraviolet or ozone treatment.

According to the CAP report, however, the cost of abandoning chlorine would come to only about $1.50 per utility customer per year.