Reshoring – Warehouse Space Increases the Need for Chemical Security

The COVID-19 Pandemic has changed the future of the United States supply chain and how companies who have been utilizing just-in-time inventory recognize the vulnerabilities that business approach exposes. The need for warehouse space has increased, which could mean more chemical storage of industrial chemicals for various industries. Additional chemical inventory storage means additional environmental, health & safety, and security regulations. Chemical security covered by the Department of Homeland Security Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). Here is how additional warehousing increases the need for chemical security.

First, we saw the shortage in PPE of face masks, ventilators, gowns and hospital beds. Then there were shortages of consumer products like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and hand sanitizer and E-Commerce skyrocketed as families quarantined and businesses closed. Our traditional supply chain model showed many vulnerabilities and we had to change our focus. The logistics demand from the pandemic changed from short-term (just-in-time) to an increase in maintaining higher stock levels in every region of our country. Enter “reshoring” – essentially the opposite of off-shoring and resulting with the conversion of current U.S. based real estate space (e.g. buildings, enclosed malls/shopping centers, commercial offices, blighted buildings), to warehousing and distribution space.

Regardless of whether shipments are just in-time or temporary storage, warehouses and storage facilities serve a critical role for safe storage, security and distribution of various critical or important chemicals. Although these chemicals have legitimate uses, some of these are compressed gases, toxics, oxidizers, corrosives, water-reactive substances, explosives and flammables – all of which can be used by individuals and/or domestic and international terrorist groups with intent to harm, destroy or kill our citizens.

This is why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program: to keep dangerous substances out of the hands of terrorists who could use them to unleash death and destruction in an attack.

CFATS regulates the security of any chemicals deemed to be of interest to terrorists. Its program requirements apply to facility owners and operators that possess, consume, sell or create some 300 various chemicals of interest (COI) that could be used in an act of terror. Many of these facilities do not think of themselves as a “chemical facility” per se, but under CFATS many seemingly innocuous facilities are regulated. These facilities include everything from food production and storage plants, swimming pools, golf courses, research labs, universities, office buildings, farmers’ co-ops, paint/coatings manufacturing and even some breweries.