Chemical Safety and Security Initiative

Ed Kunce, MassDEP Deputy Commissioner spoke about the inspections that the Department and the State Fire Marshall’s Office are undertaking in the wake of response actions at industrial facilities in South Hadley and Danvers, Massachusetts. John Farrell of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) spoke about the new rules by USDHS to have companies register, if their storage of listed chemicals exceeds threshold quantities, through the use of the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT). These initiatives are not just about “chemical plants” but target a wide-range of facilities under a broad definition of chemical usage.