(144c) Mission-Critical Chemical Facilities: Initial Findings and Policy Implications

In addition to regulating based on risks associated with public health & safety and national economic impacts, DHS ISCD needs to consider regulation based on criticality of a facility’s contribution to important government missions. Our preliminary assessment suggests that there are mission-critical chemical facilities that support, for example, important pharmaceuticals-related government missions. But only regulating chemical facilities for mission criticality and not the other parts of these mission supply chains may be efficient if DHS doesn’t first address (1) potentially more critical supply-chain-based risks to government missions, and (2) other DHS mandates for increased chemical sector resilience. We present some theoretical foundations and analytical evidence that illustrate how chemical-sector mission criticality, risk, and resilience objectives can be simultaneously addressed through: careful assessment of chemical-facility and overall supply chain assets, including: non-chemical facilities and transportation; private-sector coordination; and public-sector oversight. These could support ISCD mission-criticality policies (planning and private-public partnerships) that ultimately reduce chemical-facility security risks to government missions.