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Chemical Security
New Department of Homeland Security Requirements
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had published chemical
security rules on November 20, 2007 to prevent potential misuse
of certain chemicals. While the new regulations are most directly
applicable to chemical facilities, the rule’s broad definition
of “chemical facility” makes colleges and universities
subject to the requirements as well. There are currently 325 Chemicals
of Interest listed in Appendix A of the DHS rule:
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/
chemsec_appendixa-chemicalofinterestlist.pdf
EHS Office has narrowed the list to approximately 130 chemicals.
MIT now has until Feburary 1, 2008 to inventory our chemical stocks
and submit the results. The EHS Office has already been in touch
with major chemical users from research departments, facilities
and other campus groups to brief them on this regulation.
To submit your DHS
Report
For more information see DHS
Fact Sheet (PDF).
For more information on Chemical
Inventory
Securing dangerous materials from misuse or release is critical
to protect MIT’s community from hazard potentials and harm.
Over the past several years, MIT has acted to improve security measures
and implement access control to several lab areas. These controls
are implemented with the consent of local departments who can advise
security officials on what controls are appropriate to their areas.
While the product of this rule is a report to the government, these
new DHS regulations will assist all of us at MIT in understanding
the overall view of security and vulnerability as related to chemicals
in use at MIT.
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