ASP Board member and former Governor of New Jersey & EPA Administrator –  Christine Todd Whitman –  wrote on the New York Times about the chemical threat to the U.S.

In the op-ed, Governor Whitman wrote:

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the American government, under two presidents, has taken unprecedented steps to ensure the safety of its citizens. Unfortunately, more than a decade later, a major flaw in our national security remains, leaving millions of Americans at risk. It’s a flaw that policy makers have known about for years but not yet done enough to fix.

She noted:

….I am encouraged, because the E.P.A., under its current administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, is once again seriously considering addressing chemical facility security. In March, the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council urged the agency to “use its authority under the 1990 Clean Air Act … to reduce or eliminate these catastrophic risks.” This is the right thing to do, and it is a step that the E.P.A. could take right now. All the agency needs is the support from President Obama to use its Clean Air Act authority

She concluded by saying:

It would not take an elaborate plot by Al Qaeda to endanger many lives. In the past few years, we have already seen too many accidents, homegrown incidents and numerous warnings from the Department of Homeland Security. We’ve got to draw the line. It’s both good policy and good politics for the Obama administration to act to secure the nation’s chemical plants now.

You can read the full op-ed here.

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