Position Paper
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Crop Protection Chemical Security
The Department of Homeland Security has issued Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) for any facility that manufactures, uses, stores, or distributes certain chemicals at or above a specified quantity. Agribusiness is unique in its use, distribution and storage of chemicals, and so are its security needs. |
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Background
CLA participates in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Chemical Security Coordinating Council (CSCC) and the Food and Agriculture Security Council to improve our industry’s ability to communicate threat information, report suspicious activity, and to respond to an emergency and recover from an incident. In 2002 CropLife America (CLA) formed an agribusiness security working group with the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), to jointly address agricultural chemical security concerns. This working group developed new guidelines to facilitate security evaluations for chemical facilities and created a web-based program for ag-retailers to assess vulnerability and prioritize counter measures. CLA manufacturing member companies have also adopted the comprehensive Responsible Care Security Code developed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to enhance the security of chemical sites.
CropLife America's Position
- The crop protection chemicals industry is working in close cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security to implement the recently finalized CFATS rule.
- CLA is actively engaged on this issue as a member of the AG Security Working Group that includes the following members: American Farm Bureau Federation, Agricultural Retailers Association, Chemical Producers and Distributers Association, CropLife America, National Agricultural Aviation Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and The Fertilizer Institute.
- CropLife believes collaborative efforts to create appropriate measures to protect chemicals and manufacturing facilities from threat and identify mechanisms to further safeguard sites and materials calls into question the immediate need for the establishment of new legislation.