Ammonia Refrigeration Systems and Chlorine Sanitation Systems Deserve Close Scrutiny
Food defense planning often concentrates solely on protecting food products from intentional contamination. In the evolving world of adversary and defender, however, it is also necessary to consider the systems that are essential to the food production and processing cycles—like ammonia refrigeration systems and chlorine sanitation systems—that are ubiquitous in food processing plants.
A thinking adversary is always trying to gain advantage, to out-think the defender to find a way to leverage for effect. Food system adversaries would seek to kill and injure people in the process sowing doubt and fear. They would want consumers to believe that the government can’t protect them because they (the adversaries) are so deeply embedded in our culture that they can’t be stopped from causing more death and destruction. That is practically the definition of terror.
Given a robust food defense plan and a system that successfully protects products, are there other options available to the adversary? One possible alternative target is the system itself. In other words, if the adversary can’t attack the actual food product, can the food production or processing plant itself be attacked in a way to achieve the goal of terror and destruction? The answer is yes.
Some government and military officials, for example, consider ammonia to be a likely first-choice terrorist weapon. As controls on the ammonia supply have tightened, industrial refrigeration systems remain the most likely source of ammonia gas. And food processing plants, needless to say, are full of industrial refrigeration systems.
Here is where I have to be careful in what I say. I have published previous articles cautioning the need for increased security around ammonia and chlorine tanks and systems. Now, I believe an update is necessary because of a confluence of apparently disparate facts regarding events outside the United States and Europe.
Since they are exceedingly busy, food processing plant, food safety, and food defense managers likely don’t carefully monitor events outside their own areas of responsibilities. So here are several points that need to be put into context and understood in the context of food defense, should adversaries turn toward systems:
• Hezbollah is a terrorist group at war with Israel. In 2017, Israel successfully targeted and killed three high-ranking members of the organization. Hezbollah is financed by Iran and their proxies in places including Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen. They also have been heavily involved in the Syrian Civil War. After the three Hezbollah leaders were killed, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah pointed out the organization’s precision missile capability and ability to target an Israeli ammonia transfer tank in Haifa Bay. He boasted that “…even if the ammonia tank is transferred to another site, Hezbollah will hit it,”[1] noting their capability to hit the actual ship carrying the ammonia.
• The important thing is not the missile threat. The important thing is that a known terrorist organization has openly threatened to target ammonia tanks. Terrorist organizations, by the way, have been known to emulate the techniques of others and also to cooperate, even with groups outsiders might consider their competitors or even enemies. The old adage of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is very real in the Middle East. The most important implication here is that ammonia tanks are seen as potential terrorist targets.
• In January 2017, ISIS announced the formation of a new drone warfare unit designed to inflict “a new source of horror for the apostates.”[2] Drones have dropped PVC pipes filled with high explosives and 40-mm mortar rounds with a surprising degree of precision. The most important implications here are the degree of precision, and ISIS’ access to drones that can be used to inflict death and injury on military and civilian populations. Again, it is important to note that terrorist organizations emulate each other.
• In a Washington Post article entitled Use of Weaponized Drones by ISIS Spurs Terrorism Fears,[3] author Joby Warrick noted, “The threat to troops is serious enough to prompt U.S. and Iraqi commanders to issue warnings to soldiers near the front lines. But a far bigger worry, U.S. officials say, is the potential for future attacks against civilians. Islamist militants have long discussed the possibility of using drones as remote-controlled missiles that can deliver explosives or even unconventional weapons such as deadly nerve agents. In recent weeks, the notion of terrorist drones has moved a step closer to reality, terrorism experts say.” Further, “…a Pentagon official acknowledged that coalition troops had been forced to take countermeasures against drones—steps that include early-detection systems and electronic jamming—while also stepping up the search for factories and staging areas where the aircraft are being readied for use on the battlefield.” Many countries, including those hostile to the U.S., manufacture military grade drones. The implication here is that although the military is able to deal with the threat because they have the tools and techniques to do so, civilian populations and businesses do not.
• Nick Waters, an ex-British Army officer and open-source intelligence analyst, has authored a detailed, privately produced report on ISIS’ ability to modify drones and use them for targeted strikes with explosives. The report, entitled, Death From Above: The Drone Bombs of the Caliphate,[4] is worth a read. The implication here is that ISIS has the engineering capability and access to equipment to successfully weaponize civilian-grade drones—and once again, it is important to remember terrorist groups cross-fertilize each other. ISIS may be in retreat, but that doesn’t mean the danger is gone.