Terrorism security in the chemical industry: Results of a qualitative investigation

Industrial sectors are nowadays extensively confronted with anti-terrorism security. Chemical plants, in particular, face the necessity for increased terrorism prevention. This article discusses organizational security measures as they relate to chemical facilities in general, and to four chemical enterprises in particular. Furthermore, a general overview (used in the chemical industry as well as in other industrial sectors) of physical security components used to fight terrorism is provided. Four security hypotheses based on professional and academic literature and on internal documents with reference to the chemical industry are validated via in-depth interviews carried out in four chemical multinationals. Furthermore, recommendations are given to consider when striving for improvement in installing and continuously improving security measures in the chemicals sector.