http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/991021/dc_center__1.html

Thursday October 21, 2:07 pm Eastern Time

Company Press Release

SOURCE: Center for Y2K and Society

Most Small Chemical Plants Surveyed Not Y2K-Ready; Temporary Shutdown Urged to Minimize Chemical Accident Risks

Plants Surveyed in NJ, TX, CA, KS Found Unprepared

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A Texas A&M survey of small and medium-sized chemical plants found that only 13.5% are ready for Y2K, while nearly all are vulnerable to problems.

In light of this report, immediate action is needed to reduce the risk of Y2K related leaks, explosions and fires at chemical and petroleum plants, the nonprofit Center for Y2K and Society urged today.

The Center recommended that most chemical plants should be required to take a ``safety holiday'' immediately before and after January 1.

``Unless there are strong safety reasons not to, chemical plants and petroleum refineries should be required to shut down during the transition to the new year and slowly re-start their operations with skilled engineering and safety experts on-site,'' urged Norman L. Dean, executive director of the Center. Such safety holiday measures have already been announced by a number of facilities in both the U.S. and Canada.

The Center also recommended that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration should mandate immediate action by large chemical facilities to assess and minimize their Y2K risks

In related action, Senators Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, and Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), Committee Vice-Chair, today called upon EPA and Federal Emergency Management Agency to help prepare communities.

The survey was conducted by the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center at the Texas A&M University under a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

That survey found that:

* only 13.5% of small and medium sized firms involved in chemical, petroleum refining, and offshore petroleum activities had completed their Y2K preparations.

* 4.1% of the surveyed firms indicated a potential for a "catastrophic event."

* many, if not all, of the surveyed firms have a system which is vulnerable to Y2K failures.

* the surveyed firms are "in general, far-removed from technology advances, basic information and know-how, and access to technical and financial resources."

Over the past two months, several government reports have expressed concern about Y2K and chemical safety. A unanimous bipartisan Senate Committee report on September 22 noted that the consequence of a Y2K accident by a small company in the chemical industry ``can be disastrous.'' Similarly, a statement released last month by the White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged chemical ``safety issues that could be created by multiple Y2K failures, or by external Y2K failures, especially those related to power.'' It also noted continuing risks in the ability of chemical enterprises ``to safely use, store, and transport hazardous chemicals.''

``The Texas A&M survey is a warning that small and medium-sized chemical plants face increased risks of explosions, leaks and fires resulting from Y2K,'' warned Dean. ``Both federal and state regulators and chemical plant operators need to take immediate action to reduce the risk of Y2K-induced problems.''

The Texas A&M Survey was based on telephone interviews by trained surveyors and involved facilities in New Jersey, California, Kansas, and Texas.

About 85 million Americans live within five miles of one of the 66,000 facilities nationwide that handle highly hazardous chemicals. California is the only state that has a comprehensive program for reducing the public safety risks of chemical accidents.

The Senate press release can be found at www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/pr991021.

The Texas A&M report can be found at http//y2k.senate.gov/documents/sme_chemrpt.pdf.

The Center for Y2K and Society -- a project of The Tides Center -- is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reduce the possible societal impacts of the Y2K computer problem. For more information about other activities, go to www.y2kcenter.org.

SOURCE: Center for Y2K and Society

-- Helium (Heliumavid@yahoo.com), October 21, 1999

Answers

I tried both:

http//y2k.senate.gov/documents/sme_chemrpt.pdf

and

www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/pr991021

The documents appear to have been removed.

Things will get worse before they get better......

-- Helium (Heliumavid@yahoo.com), October 21, 1999.

Try

http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/pr991021.htm

Which is where the article is... usually you can get into sites by removing tyhe final section of the URL:

thus... http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/

-- Bob Barbour (r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz), October 21, 1999.

http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/news/pr991021.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 21, 1999 CONTACTS: Sen. Bennett - Don Meyer 202-224-5224 Sen. Dodd - Unice Lieberman 202-224-5224 Chem. Safety Board - Phil Cogan 202-261-7620 Tex. Engineering Sta. - Mike Downey 409-845-5524

STUDY SAYS SMALL CHEMICAL BUSINESSES NOT Y2K READY, BENNETT, DODD URGE EPA, FEMA TO HELP PREPARE COMMUNITIES

Report available at http://y2k.senate.gov/documents/sme_chemrpt.pdf

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, and Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), Committee Vice-Chair, today released new data - first referenced in the Committee's September 22 A100-Day Report - that provides an unprecedented look at the lack of Y2K readiness among small and medium-sized chemical businesses.

"In the past, we have had very little information about small chemical handlers and manufacturers, and the assumption was made that they were not prepared for Y2K, said Bennett. "To a large degree, that assumption has been confirmed by this in-depth, independent report."

Based on the new findings, Bennett and Dodd said they are urging Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head James Lee Witt and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Carol Browner to alert State Emergency Managers, State Emergency Response Commissions and Local Emergency Planning Committees.

"Ensuring the health and safety of our citizens must be our number one Y2K priority", said Dodd. "While the probability of a Y2K-related disruption is low, the potential harm even one chemical accident can cause means we must be especially vigilant."

Funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation and prepared by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station's (TEES) Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center headquartered at Texas A&M University in College Station, the report conducted a scientific survey of firms with 200 or fewer employees in New Jersey, Kansas, California and Texas. Its results include the following:

86.5 percent of firms surveyed are not currently prepared for Y2K.

85.6 percent have not coordinated emergency plans with local/community officials. A majority have not linked contingency planning to community emergency services such as police, fire and rescue, or hospitals. 79 percent said they had never before been surveyed about Y2K preparedness. A majority of respondents do not belong to industry organizations or trade associations, which have been the primary gatherers of Y2K preparedness information in the private sector. 4.1 percent said Y2K presents Apotential for a catastrophic event.

In addition, the survey said that small and medium-sized chemical firms are, in general, "far-removed from technology advances, basic information and know-how, and access to technical and financial resources".

"This is the case for many small businesses outside the chemical industry as well," said Bennett. "And while small business Y2K preparedness is important for our economy, few small businesses in other industries carry the same public safety concerns with regard to their Y2K preparedness."

Dr. M. Sam Mannan, the O'Connor center director and associate professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M, conducted the study with project manager Charles Isdale.

"We suggest that special emphasis be given to contingency planning and communications issues, given the lack of preparation time remaining," said Mannan. "Sharing contingency planning strategies and coordination with local responders is highly recommended."

"Plant managers, workers and emergency responders must redouble their efforts to coordinate contingency planning and implementation," said U.S. Chemical Safety Board member, Dr. Jerry Poje. "The time to apply an ounce of prevention is running out."

A March Chemical Safety Board report noted a lack of information about small and medium-sized chemical businesses, which the board expected had taken "less than appropriate" measures to prepare for Y2K. Also, during a Senate field hearing in New Jersey in May, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration came under fire for Y2K public education efforts with the chemical industry that Senator Bennett deemed "woefully inadequate".

The Committee's "100-day Y2K report" released in September also cited a scarcity of information about small chemical enterprises, and gave the industry a below-average rating for emergency planning.

At the Committee's urging, the White House Y2K Council held its first chemical industry roundtable on August 30, which was intended to produce government and industry recommendations for millennium preparations. At the time, industry groups attempting to survey small and medium-sized enterprises were encountering significant roadblocks in gathering information from their members.

"Now that we have more information on the chemical industry, individuals and communities can take reasonable steps to prepare for Y2K," said Bennett. "I would urge community emergency planners and local chemical firms to work together toward ensuring a smooth and safe transition to the new year."

"Time is running out, but it's still not too late if these firms act now," said Dodd. "Developing viable Y2K contingency plans in conjunction with state and local officials must be a top priority in the chemical industry."

U.S. chemical manufacturing, storage and transportation is a $392 billion industry. An estimated 85 million Americans live within five miles of one of the 66,000 sites that handle hazardous chemicals.

-- Helium (Heliumavid@yahoo.com), October 21, 1999.

Helium -

Yahoo has an error in that first URL; for want of a colon, a link was lost.

Here's a link: Texas A&M Report

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 21, 1999.

Ironically, the Texas A&M report on Y2K and Chemical Companies has a form of date-sorting error in one of its tables. Actually, the date sort is quite accurate; it's just not what is desired.

On page 26, we find a listing of responses to the question "When Did You Begin Your Y2K Readiness Project - Month/Day/Year?".

The list of responses has a leftmost column that looks like this:

1/1/97

1/1/98

1/1/99

1/8/98

1/15/99

2/1/99

2/2/98

2/8/99

2/10/99

3/1/99

3/15/99

4/1/98

and so forth...

You thus get responses grouped by month. Did you know that a total of 15 companies started their projects in January of some year or other? Useful, that. LOL!

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 21, 1999.

Reference the link to "Results of the CMA Survey on Chemical Industry Y2K Readiness" (BTW, that link gets a 404 Error):

In the Texas A&M survey, they ask if the respondent is a member of the CMA. Response:

YES -- 45

NO -- 199

DON'T KNOW -- 30

N/A -- 7

So out of 281 responses, only 45 (16%) are card-carrying CMA members. Close enough for Pareto...

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), October 21, 1999.

Does this mean we can move back to our homes near 7-11's now?

-- gas mask (attheready@tongue.incheek), October 21, 1999.

Please circulate these Y2K worker health & safety resources from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training: Press release: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/y2k.htm

Course materials at: http://204.177.120.20/wetp/clear/y2k/index.htm. Includes:

1. Powerpoint slides that summarize & accompany the Handbook http://204.177.120.20/wetp/clear/y2k/y2kcourse/y2kcourseslides_files/f rame.htm

2. Y2K Worker Awareness Handbook (about 70 pages of useful info about Y2K issues in hazardous industries and emergency response situations)

3. Potential "what if" scenarios

4. Resource list

Here's the review from the Senate Committee's "100 Day Report" (p. 150):

NIEHS Worker Training Course: A special training course to help workers prepare for potential health and safety risks associated with Y2K is being developed by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety & Health Training.

The course will target workers in a variety of sectors including the industrial trades, the construction trades, the health care industry, hazardous materials related fields, and emergency response activities. It will include an overview of who and what the Y2K problem could potentially impact, an update of the state of individual industries Y2K compliance, an outline of how the problem might affect different workplaces, as well as measures workers can take to safeguard themselves and others.

**Please circulate these materials to your friends and colleagues in these industries!!**

-- d (d@d.com), October 22, 1999.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,32045,00.html

[snip]

Chemical Y2K Catastrophe Looms

Wired News Report

11:00 a.m. 21.Oct.99.PDT

Nearly 90 percent of the small- and medium-sized chemical businesses in the United States aren't ready for Y2K, and some acknowledge the chance of a "catastrophic event" when the clock strikes midnight double-zero, according to a US Senate survey released Thursday.

"While the probability of a Y2K-related disruption is low, the potential harm even one chemical accident can cause means we must be especially vigilant," said Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate's special committee on Y2K, which commissioned the survey.

Bennett urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to alert state and local emergency planning agencies.

"We suggest that special emphasis be given to contingency planning and communications issues, given the lack of preparation time remaining," said Dr. M. Sam Mannan, the Texas A&M professor who conducted the survey.

More than 85 million Americans live within five miles of a facility that handles dangerous chemicals. Many of those facilities are small operations with fewer than 200 employees, and most such small firms are "far removed from technology advances, basic information and know- how, and access to technical and financial resources," according to the survey.

[snip]

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), October 22, 1999.

"d",

**Please circulate these materials to your friends and colleagues in these industries!!**

Thank You!!!! Have sent it along to concerned parties...

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), October 22, 1999.