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Chemical Security Quarterly - Fall 2022 |
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Save the Date! CFATS 15th Anniversary Commemoration - Teams Live Event: 11/17/2022
 Save the date! CISA's Associate Director for Chemical Security Kelly Murray will be hosting a special Teams Live event on Thursday, November 17, from 3 - 4 pm. ET.
AD Murray, in collaboration with several special guests, will look back on the fifteen-year history of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) as the program marks its 15th anniversary on November 20.
Learn more about the event and read the latest CFATS 15th Anniversary blog posts at CFATS 15 Anniversary.
The event is free and open to the public – no registration is required. A link will be posted to the webpage and sent out prior to November 17.
For questions related to this event, contact CFATS@hq.dhs.gov or visit our Anniversary webpage.
Follow CISA on LinkedIn and Twitter for updates.
In our last quarterly, we featured our first blog post commemorating the 15th anniversary of the publication of the CFATS Final Rule. Check out our 15th anniversary page for more including a blog on Appendix A and inspections (coming soon!)
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Thank You for Attending the 2022 Chemical Security Summit
More than 700 participants attended the 2022 Chemical Security Summit. Whether you attended virtually or in-person, we are so pleased that you were able to join us. Highlights included a welcome keynote from Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary John Tien, a fireside chat between Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly and CISA Chemical Security Associate Director Kelly Murray, and a panel featuring members of the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council.
A variety of general and breakout sessions heard more than 60 speakers from across the sector speak to wide-ranging topics that affect the chemical security community. We are pleased to share with you a select number of presentations, including Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Cyber and Physical Security Best Practices, Preparing for a CFATS Inspection, CISA Chemical Security’s International Initiatives, and over a dozen more.
Prepare Your Chemical Facility for Natural Disasters
Every region in the U.S. is vulnerable to some type of natural disaster, including winter storms, floods, tornados, hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes. These hazards include all types of weather that have the potential to pose a threat to human health and safety, critical infrastructure—such as chemical facilities—and homeland security.
These events can occur seasonally and without warning, so having a plan in place year-round for your facility with dangerous chemicals will help mitigate the impacts any disaster may have so that those chemicals remain secure.
Sign up for security and incident alerts such as:
Develop, implement, exercise, and update security and response plans:
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If your facility is regulated by the CFATS program, your Site Security Plan (SSP)/Alternative Security Program (ASP) should account for security degradations in the event of natural disasters, such as providing backup power or contingencies for when on-site security is not available.
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If your facility is unregulated but still holds dangerous chemicals, consider incorporating measures to respond appropriately in the event of a disaster.
For tips on how to further enhance your facility security posture for physical and cyber events, as well as what to do after an event has occurred, check out ChemLock's No-Notice Events Fact Sheet.
Facilities can request CISA expertise in facilitating a live, tailored, tabletop exercise. To request a live exercise or drill, please fill out the ChemLock Services Request Form. These ChemLock services are available to all facilities with chemical holdings, regardless of their status with the CFATS program.
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The CFATS regulation requires every covered chemical facility to conduct an audit of its compliance with its Site Security Plan (SSP) or Alternative Security Program (ASP)) on a yearly basis. The annual audit is critical in ensuring that facilities are keeping their chemicals of interest (COI) out of malicious hands and implementing security measures for each applicable risk-based performance standard (RBPS). In addition to confirming that all existing and planned measures from the SSP/ASP are implemented and correctly documented, audits may cover topics such as:
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Verification of Top-Screen and Security Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) data, including ensuring COI information is current.
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Confirmation of all Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) user roles.
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Review of current policies, procedures, training, etc.
The first audit must be completed within 12 months of the SSP/ASP approval, with annual audits thereafter. For questions about your annual audit, contact your Chemical Security Inspector or Compliance Case Manager. Not sure who that is? Email cfats@hq.dhs.gov, and we will get you in touch with the proper personnel.
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Request a Technical Consult
If you have any questions on how to complete your Top-Screen or Site Security Plan, need help understanding risk-based performance standards and security measures for meeting them, or have questions about your current tiering determination, there is someone at CISA to help.
Do you need assistance in understanding a part of the regulation? Are you opening a new facility? Are you planning to bring a new COI on site in the near future? Our chemical security experts can provide guidance on all of this and more through over the phone technical consultations (tech consults) with you and your facility.
Get started by contacting the CSAT Help Desk at 866-323-2957 or emailing CSAT@hq.dhs.gov.
Upcoming ChemLock Trainings
CISA’s ChemLock program offers live, on-demand training to assist owners, operators, facility personnel, and retailers with understanding the threats that chemicals pose and what security measures can be put into place to reduce the risk of dangerous chemicals being weaponized. To request a special offering of ChemLock training courses for your facility or organization, please fill out the ChemLock Services Request Form.
In addition to training specifically requested by an organization, CISA provides the ChemLock: Introduction to Chemical Security training course on a quarterly basis on a first-come, first-serve basis.
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CFATS Program Statistics
To date, CISA has received more than 106,000 Top -Screen submissions from over 44,000 facilities. At this time, 3,264 of these facilities are high-risk. Additionally, the program has completed 4,599 Authorization Inspections, 9,746 Compliance Inspections, and 10,166 Compliance Assistance Visits.
CISA Chemical Security continues to provide new and updated resources for the entire chemical security community. Check out our latest resources:
We are committed to helping facility personnel understand and comply with CFATS. If you have any questions, reach out to our team of CFATS experts at cfats@hq.dhs.gov.
Meet your local Chemical Security Inspector (CSI) to develop partnerships and for assistance. Contact your CSI by emailing cfats@hq.dhs.gov.
Call the CSAT Help Desk for technical support on the CSAT Portal or CFATS-related applications. Call 1-866-323-2957 Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm ET, or email CSAT@hq.dhs.gov.
CISA’s ChemLock publications are no-cost, publicly available guidance documents, templates, fact sheets, and toolkits to help facilities enhance the cyber and physical security surrounding their chemicals.
NOTE: Participation in any portion of CISA’s ChemLock program does not replace any reporting or compliance requirements under CISA’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) regulation (6 CFR part 27). Some ChemLock activities may fulfill CFATS requirements, depending on your specific security plan. Contact local CISA Chemical Security personnel or visit the CFATS webpage to learn more about CFATS regulatory requirements.
 Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security John Tien welcomes attendees on the first day of the 2022 Chemical Security Summit on August 23, 2022, in Alexandria, VA.
 Matt Fridley, Director of Safety and Security – Brenntag; Gary Davis, Director of Security - Air Liquide; Executive Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security, Dr. David Mussington; Chief Security Officer at Dow, Scott Whelchel; and Director of Security - Linde, Carey Waltz chatting after EAD Mussington's remarks on Day 3 of the Summit, August 25, 2022, in Alexandria, VA.
 More than 150 attendees participated in sessions across three days at the 2022 Chemical Security Summit in Alexandria, VA from August 23-25, 2022.
 CISA's Associate Director for Chemical Security Kelly Murray gives the annual State of Chemical Security address on Day 2 of the Chemical Security Summit, August 24, 2022, in Alexandria, VA.
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