WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is pushing heightened security at chemical plants that could be targets for terrorist attacks.
Department of Homeland Security officials testified before Congress Wednesday that an overall federal plan is needed to protect chemical plants. The department praised the efforts of some companies, but others -- many of them relatively small -- have not put sufficient security measures in place, officials told the Washington Post.
Federal officials said they were most concerned about plants in northern New Jersey, where an attack could release toxic chemicals near millions of people.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joseph Leiberman, D-Conn., said they were writing a bill that would set chemical plants security measures in law, the Post reported.
Homeland Security officials told the Post they were not detailing any regulations they feel are needed but said the sites they considered to be the most dangerous would get the most government attention.
