This week, AFPM joined API and industry associations representing fuel retailers, gasoline marketers, convenience stores and tank truck carriers to field questions from the media about the ongoing fuel distribution challenges resulting from the Colonial Pipeline shutdown.
In late July, Congress allowed a valuable program that enhances security at chemical facilities across the country to expire. The program is called the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), and its primary mission is to protect chemical facilities from potential terror threats by addressing a wide range of possible vulnerabilities, including cyberattacks.
It was 2010 and Jerry Wascom, ExxonMobil’s Americas refining director, was worried. Despite fuel and petrochemical manufacturers making significant improvements in the safety of their individual operations, across the industries there was an uptick in serious incidents. Workers were getting injured, surrounding communities were losing confidence, the reputation of the industries was being tarnished and regulators were becoming increasingly engaged. Wascom turned to his counterparts within the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (AFPM), the industry trade group, and asked, “Are we doing enough to protect people?”