SALT LAKE CITY, July 6 (UPI) -- A government study estimates half of Utah's population could be harmed by toxic gas if terrorists attack a state chemical storage facility.
The study was performed at the request of Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who asked the Congressional Research Service to analyze risk-management plans and maps that plants provide to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The research service doesn't refer to the Utah facility by name.
The Deseret News said CRS found one plant in Utah could threaten 1 million or more people if attacked; five other state sites could threaten 100,000 to 999,999 people each; 11 others could hurt 10,000 to 99,999 people and 18 to 20 could hurt 1,000 to 9,999 people.
Nationally, the CRS found that 108 to 112 plants could threaten 1 million or more people.
Verdi White, director of the Utah Division of Homeland Security, described the plans in place to protect critical infrastructure in the state as "pretty good."
