Most of the nation’s 101 most dangerous chemical facilities could become less attractive terrorist targets by converting to alternative chemicals or processes. Doing so would improve the safety and security of more than 80 million Americans living within range of a worst-case toxic gas release from one of these facilities, according to data compiled for this report. Millions more living near railroads and highways used for transporting hazardous chemicals would also be safer and more secure.

(AP) NEW YORK Five years after the attack on the World Trade Center, Islamic extremists — including members of Hezbollah — still view the city as a prime target for another terrorist strike, police say.

A bill signed in the Council of the District of Columbia to prohibit large shipments of certain extremely hazardous materials near the United States Capitol in order to reduce the risk of attacks by terrorists; to allow for the issuance of permits authorizing such shipments in special cases; and to require the Mayor to issue regulations to implement the provisions of this act.

Court Opinion and Order of Judge Sullivan in the Washing DC Ban.

The Department of Homeland Security has preliminarily labeled more than 200 chemical facilities, including university laboratories, at highest risk for a potential terrorist attack. DHS has winnowed this number from a pool of about 7,000 facilities under review in its chemical plant security program.

Morning Edition, June 18, 2007 · Every year, freight trains in the United States carry chemicals so toxic that they could kill anyone inhaling the fumes. The trains often travel through the center of America's cities, raising worries that terrorists could attack them and cause mass casualties. But ordinances to reroute the trains are tied up in court.

The Department of Homeland Security and numerous security experts have repeatedly warned that terrorists could use industrial chemicals as improvised weapons of mass destruction—and indeed, terrorists recently attacked and blew up several trucks carrying chlorine in Iraq. In this respect, railcars of chlorine gas represent a distinct national security vulnerability. Yet Congress and the Bush administration have not acted to eliminate unnecessary uses of chlorine gas railcars even where undeniably affordable and practical alternatives exist. To examine this vulnerability and encourage action, the Center for American Progress surveyed water utilities that still receive chlorine gas by rail, as well as utilities that since 1999 have eliminated chlorine railcars by switching to a less hazardous disinfectant. Our major findings are shown in the box on page 3.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 — Seeking to make rail shipments of chlorine and other hazardous chemicals less vulnerable to attack, the Homeland Security Department intends to announce a proposed rule on Friday to require railroads to track continuously tanker cars for “toxic inhalation hazards” and bar them from leaving the cars unattended or parked for long periods.

At least a half-dozen U.S. cities are considering a ban or limit on rail shipments of deadly chemicals in an effort to prevent terrorists from turning tank cars into weapons of mass destruction.

The Center for American Progress, with assistance from the National Association of State PIRGs and National Environmental Trust, conducted a survey to identify such facilities and spotlight successful practices that have removed unnecessary chemical dangers from our communities. This survey (which covered facilities that no longer report using extremely hazardous substances under the federal Risk Management Planning program) found that facilities across the country, representing a range of industries, have switched to safer alternatives from a variety of hazardous chemicals, producing dramatic security and safety benefits at a reasonable cost.

On May 12, 2005 the Department of Homeland Security staged a spectacular joint terrorist preparedness exercise in Romulus, Michigan and the Detroit Metropolitan Airport called "Operation Vigilant State, a Surface to Air Threat Exercise." However, the test made a Romulus based chemical plant explode. Not knowing a chemical plant was in the area, 32 above ground tanks were impact with four hundred toxic drums being destroyed. Immediate health effects included burning sensations in resident’s and firefighter’s lungs and associated ailments. Numerous by-products could be created from the explosive interactions affecting the environment and the health of the nearby communities.

Edward Hamberger's testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee for the Hearing on Railroad Security, October 20, 2005.

One of the first steps any sane person would take to guard against terrorism is to stop rail tankers filled with deadly chemicals from passing within a few blocks of the Capitol. If a rail tanker was attacked in downtown Washington, it could put every member of Congress - and much of the rest of the city - at risk of instant death. But the railroad industry, concerned with saving money, has blocked reasonable rules for the transport of extremely hazardous materials.

Of the all the various remaining civilian vulnerabilities, one stands alone as uniquely deadly, pervasive and susceptible to terrorist attack: industrial chemicals that are toxic when inhaled, such as chlorine, ammonia, phosgene, methyl bromide, and hydrochloric and various other acids