SecureU - Colleges Applaud Final Chemical Rules, Although Inventory Headache Remains

Campus Security

Published: 11/05/07

Colleges Applaud Final Chemical Rules, Although Inventory Headache Remains
From the article of the same title by J.J. Hermes: Chronicle of Higher Education: U.S. colleges are generally relieved to see the watered-down version of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulation that will require them and other facilities to report inventories of chemicals deemed by security officials to have potential terrorist uses. The original draft list of "chemicals of interest" included some that were commonly found in labs and classrooms, and that version of the regulation would have required colleges to inventory and report even small amounts of such chemicals. The new list has eliminated some common chemicals, including acetone, urea, and carbon monoxide, and placed a minimum threshold for reporting on others, like ethylene oxide and fluorine. Nevertheless, says Yale University director of environmental health and safety Peter A. Reinhardt, colleges will still have some problems complying with the mandate.

"I'm extremely encouraged by the changes that they've made," says Reinhardt. "I still think it's going to create quite a bit of work just to do the inventory. ... Very few colleges and universities have inventory systems." The deadline for reporting inventories to the online Top Screen federal database is 60 days after a final notice is published in the Federal Register, expected to occur by November 16. Colleges will have the right to request a 60-day extension after the original deadline expires, which Homeland Security will consider on a case-by-case basis.

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