Calling for improvements in regulation cover chemical production, Indian and American scientists made a slew of recommendations to the Central Government during a two-day workshop that concluded here on Friday.
The workshop, organised by Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in association with the US’s Department of State, assessed vulnerability of chemicals that could be used destructively.
“There are about a 100 chemicals recognized in India that could be used for making weapons,” said K.V. Raghavan, former director of IICT. Representatives from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) said they would share a database of 3,000 chemicals with their Indian colleagues.
The experts said that in India regulation stopped at provision of information but did not cover intermediaries or transformation of harmless chemicals into those which can be used for harm. Some of these chemicals are used by agriculture and pharma industries which abound in the state.
“We have learnt about atmospheric dispersion models from our Indian counterparts,” said Dr. Clifford Glantz of PNNL. The Indo-US workshop also discussed cyber threats to chemical manufacturing facilities and suggested improving computer systems that manage such facilities.
