aspartz
03-06-2005, 14:42
I just read this in the local paper. It amazes me that the feds would even consider keeping the FD/PD/EMS in the dark and in danger because of a paranoid over-reaction to 9-11
Rail placards at center of dispute between safety and security
Rail placards at center of dispute between safety and security
TERRORISM:Removing the signs would deprive attackers and emergency providers of information.
BY CHRISTOPHER DREW
NEW YORK TIMES
They are just pieces of cardboard, and they cover less than a square foot on the side of a railroad tank car. But behind them lies a post-Sept. 11 competition between safety and security.
For decades, emergency-response teams approaching train wrecks have peered at the signs through binoculars to see what dangerous chemicals might be leaking. But federal officials will decide soon on a proposal to remove the placards from all tank cars. Their fear is that terrorists could use them to lock in on targets for highly toxic attacks.
The idea has sparked an outcry from firefighters and rail workers, who say removing the signs could endanger their lives. They say federal officials seem more focused on guarding against a terrorist attack than on the daily threat of accidents.
"There's this feeling that you have to secure everything possible in every way possible for every possible kind of terrorist attack," said Garry Briese, executive director of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
The dispute over the placards illustrates a growing push to mask sensitive data about the nation's industrial base from the prying eyes of potential terrorists. In the tug of war over tank cars and other industrial information, critics question whether the move toward secrecy is overwhelming safety concerns and even chilling debates over how to eliminate the vulnerabilities.
People who live near chemical and nuclear plants, dams and oil and gas pipelines complain that it has become harder to find out about disaster plans and environmental hazards, and some have sued for more information. Engineering reports have been stripped from government Web sites, and several agencies are creating new controls on sensitive information that go far beyond the wide-ranging classification system built in the Cold War.
Internal government e-mail messages show that months before the train bombings last March in Madrid, Spain, federal transportation officials stopped the Defense Intelligence Agency from disseminating a report on rail vulnerabilities in the United States.
The messages, which were obtained by the New York Times from a former federal official, show that the report was intended to spark debate among federal and local officials on improving rail security. But after complaints from the industry, one senior transportation official helped block the report by arguing that if it became public "I could foresee this paper being a handout in the next session of al-Qaeda's rail-attack course."
Critics say the report could have helped speed security improvements at rail stations.
Another hot area of debate over secrecy is the atomic energy industry. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has stashed away an enormous trove of documents about nuclear power plants, suspending access to much of its Web site while weeding out reports that might aid terrorists.
A spokeswoman for the commission, Sue Gagner, said that access to 380,000 documents was suspended last October and that 120,000 have been made available again.
Since chlorine leaking from a derailed tank car killed nine people and injured hundreds last month in South Carolina, the fight over the railroad placards has emerged as the most potent symbol of the debate.
The Homeland Security and Transportation Departments have been considering whether to remove the placards. In August, they asked for public comments on the idea as part of a possible package of security improvements, and officials expect to make a decision soon.
Firefighters, railroad workers and large chemical companies are all adamant about keeping the placards. Government figures show that toxic chemicals leak from dozens of rail cars each year and that deaths occur periodically.
The chlorine placard is black and white. It sports a skull and crossbones and the number 1017, the chlorine code. Without the placards, "we'd be completely in the dark" in responding to many crashes, said Joe Ashbaker, a supervisor for the San Bernadino County, Calif., Fire Department.
Jamie Conrad, a lawyer for the American Chemistry Council, which lobbies for large chemical makers, said he could see how a placard might "advertise a little bit" the best cars to attack.
"But where we come down is that if you take it off, you know that people will be killed in accidents," Conrad said. "And you're basically balancing that against the theoretical prospect that terrorists might be lurking on that corner."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/11065396.htm
ARS
Rail placards at center of dispute between safety and security
Rail placards at center of dispute between safety and security
TERRORISM:Removing the signs would deprive attackers and emergency providers of information.
BY CHRISTOPHER DREW
NEW YORK TIMES
They are just pieces of cardboard, and they cover less than a square foot on the side of a railroad tank car. But behind them lies a post-Sept. 11 competition between safety and security.
For decades, emergency-response teams approaching train wrecks have peered at the signs through binoculars to see what dangerous chemicals might be leaking. But federal officials will decide soon on a proposal to remove the placards from all tank cars. Their fear is that terrorists could use them to lock in on targets for highly toxic attacks.
The idea has sparked an outcry from firefighters and rail workers, who say removing the signs could endanger their lives. They say federal officials seem more focused on guarding against a terrorist attack than on the daily threat of accidents.
"There's this feeling that you have to secure everything possible in every way possible for every possible kind of terrorist attack," said Garry Briese, executive director of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
The dispute over the placards illustrates a growing push to mask sensitive data about the nation's industrial base from the prying eyes of potential terrorists. In the tug of war over tank cars and other industrial information, critics question whether the move toward secrecy is overwhelming safety concerns and even chilling debates over how to eliminate the vulnerabilities.
People who live near chemical and nuclear plants, dams and oil and gas pipelines complain that it has become harder to find out about disaster plans and environmental hazards, and some have sued for more information. Engineering reports have been stripped from government Web sites, and several agencies are creating new controls on sensitive information that go far beyond the wide-ranging classification system built in the Cold War.
Internal government e-mail messages show that months before the train bombings last March in Madrid, Spain, federal transportation officials stopped the Defense Intelligence Agency from disseminating a report on rail vulnerabilities in the United States.
The messages, which were obtained by the New York Times from a former federal official, show that the report was intended to spark debate among federal and local officials on improving rail security. But after complaints from the industry, one senior transportation official helped block the report by arguing that if it became public "I could foresee this paper being a handout in the next session of al-Qaeda's rail-attack course."
Critics say the report could have helped speed security improvements at rail stations.
Another hot area of debate over secrecy is the atomic energy industry. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has stashed away an enormous trove of documents about nuclear power plants, suspending access to much of its Web site while weeding out reports that might aid terrorists.
A spokeswoman for the commission, Sue Gagner, said that access to 380,000 documents was suspended last October and that 120,000 have been made available again.
Since chlorine leaking from a derailed tank car killed nine people and injured hundreds last month in South Carolina, the fight over the railroad placards has emerged as the most potent symbol of the debate.
The Homeland Security and Transportation Departments have been considering whether to remove the placards. In August, they asked for public comments on the idea as part of a possible package of security improvements, and officials expect to make a decision soon.
Firefighters, railroad workers and large chemical companies are all adamant about keeping the placards. Government figures show that toxic chemicals leak from dozens of rail cars each year and that deaths occur periodically.
The chlorine placard is black and white. It sports a skull and crossbones and the number 1017, the chlorine code. Without the placards, "we'd be completely in the dark" in responding to many crashes, said Joe Ashbaker, a supervisor for the San Bernadino County, Calif., Fire Department.
Jamie Conrad, a lawyer for the American Chemistry Council, which lobbies for large chemical makers, said he could see how a placard might "advertise a little bit" the best cars to attack.
"But where we come down is that if you take it off, you know that people will be killed in accidents," Conrad said. "And you're basically balancing that against the theoretical prospect that terrorists might be lurking on that corner."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/11065396.htm
ARS