Abstract

The security of chemical and petroleum facilities has been an important topic since the chemical industry has been in existence. Security measures are necessary to prevent theft of valuable equipment, products, and intellectual property; prevent theft or diversion of materials for nefarious purposes; to prevent contamination or spoilage of product; and prevent catastrophic fires, explosions and toxic releases whether committed intentionally or as an accident or in the pursuit of another aim. There is no standard set of security measures to protect a facility. Instead it is necessary to follow a multistep Security Vulnerability Analysis (SVA). This article details these steps which include the following considerations: motivation of the attacker (terrorist or nonterrorist); attacker goals and strategies; attacker tactics; exploitable consequences, security vulnerability and countermeasures; and review and continual improvement. Once the possible threats have been analyzed, security countermeasures are implemented in a four-tier approach; deterrence; detection; delay; and response. Long-term security management is discussed.