As a student of the University of Delaware, it came as a shock to me that the state of Delaware holds 19 of the highest-risk chemical plants in the country.

There are 6,000 high-risk plants. Of those, 287 plants have switched to safer chemicals and processes since 1999. In turn, 38.5 million people are now protected. Chemical plants that have not switched to safer processes and chemicals need to be taken seriously. In such a developed country as the U.S., it is hard to find areas surrounding chemical plants that do not contain multiple schools and hospitals, as well as fairly large neighborhoods. This means that if we do not put the pressure on our politicians to support legislation that would force chemical plants to reevaluate the processes and chemicals they are using, then millions of people will remain in danger. Chemical plants are a huge target for terrorists because of the amount of damage they could cause if they underwent an attack. In Delaware, there are three chemical plants that are each putting 100,000 people at risk simply because they have not switched to safer practices.

The House of Representatives passed legislation on Nov. 9, 2009, that would require the highest risk plants to convert their security and processes to safer practices. This legislation is critical, and the Senate needs MORE at link...