Stepped up security at local water treatment plants

In an effort to thwart terror attacks, the Environmental Protection Agency wants the nation's 15,000 chemical and water plants to step up security. <br><br>News on Six anchor Scott Thompson says the

Monday, June 10th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

In an effort to thwart terror attacks, the Environmental Protection Agency wants the nation's 15,000 chemical and water plants to step up security.

News on Six anchor Scott Thompson says the city of Tulsa facilities are ahead of the game.

The EPA wants all of the nation's chemical, waste and water plants to analyze the safety and security of their facilities. Officials are concerned terrorists might try to strike water treatment plants and contaminate our water supply.

The federal agency plans to require vulnerability assessments from each of the nation's facilities to develop steps for reducing possible hazards.

Tulsa officials say they've already performed preliminary assessments and have even hired a consultant to review the security of facilities like this one. They say they're analyzing possible threats to all aspects of the water treatment process from the plants themselves to the raw water supply. City of Tulsa Deputy Director of Environmental Operations, Clayton Edwards, "I think the city itself is ahead of what alot of other utilities across the nation are doing since we've all ready done the initial assessment last year and we're just going to continue with the assessment and the evaluation of our systems.â€

Local plants have already made some security changes.