by Amy Ridenour (NAPSA)—Greenpeace, the radical environmental group with a penchant for publicity, may be treading on treasonoussoil. The group has posted a color map on the Internet showing how a terrorist attack on a bleach plant could choke New York City under a shroudof chlorine vapor. Greenpeace also posted maps of three other toxic chemical plants—actions that could give Al Qaeda sleepercells blueprints for terrorism that could kill millions. At best, this is a case of horrendously bad judgment. At worst, it borders on treason. If Al Qaeda actually uses Greenpeace’s handy “target triptik” for attacks on chemical plants, it would hardly seem unfair if its entire leadership were sent to the Navy’s Club Medfacility at Guantanamo Bay. Greenpeace and other environmental groups have campaigned for the public posting of detailed, previously confidential information about plants using or manufacturing hazardous chemicals. The Clinton Administration’s EPA agreed to require chemical companies to publicly release much of this information despite warnings that could compromise national security. Then-EPA chief Carol Browner defended her decision even after the first World Trade Center bombing and subsequent terrorist attacks on U.S. installations overseas. Browner argued that making the data more available would force companies to seek alternative materials for their products. The American Chemistry Council responded, saying the EPA was in the pocket of “professional environmentalists” seeking to provide “one-stop shopping for terrorists.” The government has rethought its position and begun stripping maps of chemical plants, hazardous materials pipelines and water reservoirs and pumpingstations from its Web sites and reading rooms. Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag. Greenpeace says a terrorist attack on the Kuehne Chemical bleach factory in N.J. could unleash a cloud of chlorine and sulfur that might cover a radius of 25 miles and jeopardize the lives and health of some 12 million people. An attack on the other three plants, Greenpeace contends, could put another four million Americansat risk. But Kuehne Chemical CEO Peter Kuehne disagrees, noting his plants have strict safety and security standards and the only release of toxic chemicals from the facility likely would come from exactly the type of terrorist attack Greenpeace’s actions may aid. Kuehne says Greenpeace’s posting of the map on its Website is akin to painting a gigantic bull’seye on the plant’s roof. “I don’t think someone who wants to do us harm hasa right to know this.” It is doubtful that Greenpeace is tied to Middle Eastern terrorists, but it did join with a number of domestic “eco-terrorist” groups including Monkey Wrench, the Ruckus Society and the Black Anarchists to demonstrate against ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil became a Greenpeace target by refusing to obey the group’s demand that it embrace the Kyoto global warming treaty. The company notes that a Clinton Administration study concluded the pact would devastate the U.S. economy. Protesting a major corporation is, of course, a constitutional right. Showing terrorists how to attack a chemical plant and perhaps slaughter millions is far different. * Amy Ridenour is president of The National Center for Public Policy Research, a non-partisan Washington, D.C. think-tank.
