Definitions
A Commercial Grade (ACG) shall refer to any quality or concentration of a chemical of interest offered for commercial sale that a facility uses, stores, manufactures, or ships.
A Placarded Amount (APA) shall refer to the STQU for a sabotage and contamination chemical of interest, as calculated in accordance with 6 CFR 27.203(d).
Facility shall refer to The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research (“The Feinstein”), a not-forprofit type B corporation under section 201 of the New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation
Law. The main location of The Feinstein is 350 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY. Laboratory locations operated by The Feinstein include 225 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY and 270 –
05 76 th Street, New Hyde Park, NY. For the purposes of the definition of Facility under 6 CFR
27, these three locations constitute a single facility. ( This definition has been approved by
NSLIJHS in-house legal counsel.)
Chemical of Interest (COI) shall refer to a chemical listed in Appendix A to part 27.
CUM 100g shall refer to the cumulative STQ of 100 grams for designated theft/diversionchemical weapons/chemical weapons precursor chemicals and which is located in Appendix A to part 27 as the entry for the STQ and Minimum Concentration of certain theft/diversionchemical weapons/chemical weapons precursor chemicals.
NSLIJHS - North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System
Screening Threshold Quantity (STQ) shall mean the quantity of a chemical of interest, upon which the facility’s obligation to complete and submit the Top-Screen chemical security assessment tool is based.
Top-Screen shall mean an initial screening process designed by the Department of Homeland
Security through which chemical facilities provide information to this Department.
Introduction
On November 20, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued and published in the Federal Register the Appendix A to Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards, Final Rule,
6 CFR Part 27. Appendix A identifies chemicals of interest to DHS and corresponding screening threshold quantities (STQs) that may trigger regulation.
The final version of Appendix A contains 325 chemicals of interest, and for each chemical a corresponding STQ and the security concerns associated with the chemical. The security concerns for which chemicals are listed are grouped into three categories: (i) potential to create
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significant adverse consequences if intentionally released or detonated (release category); (ii) potential to be used as or converted into weapons if stolen or diverted (theft and diversion category); and (iii) potential to create significant adverse consequences if mixed with other readily available materials (sabotage and contamination category). Each chemical contained in
Appendix A presents at least one of these security concerns.
Starting with the publication date of Appendix A in the Federal Register, facilities that possess any of the chemicals listed in Appendix A at or above the STQ for any applicable security issue have 60 calendar days to complete and submit a Top-Screen to DHS. Facilities that later come to possess such chemicals at or above the STQ for any applicable security issue must also complete and submit a Top-Screen within 60 calendar days. See 6 CFR
§ 27.210(a)(1)(i). In addition, facilities that are subject to the rule have an ongoing obligation to complete and update the Top-Screen, and to submit a revised Top-Screen within 60 days if they make a material modification. See 6 CFR § 27.210(d). Penalties of up to $25,000/day are possible for violations of the rule.
In order to determine the security risk posed by the facility, the Secretary of DHS (or any delegated officer) may, at any time, request information from the facility that may reflect potential consequences of or vulnerabilities to a terrorist attack or incident e.g. names, conditions of storage, quantities of specific chemicals etc.
Classifying COIs for Inclusion/Exemption of STQ
In order to ensure that interpretations are consistent throughout the facility, the following inclusion and exclusion criteria will be used when deciding whether or not the facility possesses a chemical of interest that meets the STQ for any security issue.
General
In calculating whether the FIMR facility possesses a chemical of interest that meets the STQ for any security issue, the facility need not include chemicals of interest:
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Used as a structural component;
Used as products for routine janitorial maintenance;
Contained in food, drugs, cosmetics, or other personal items used by employees;
In process water or non-contact cooling water as drawn from environment or municipal sources;
In air either as compressed air or as part of combustion; 
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Contained in articles, as defined in 40 CFR 68.3;
In solid waste (including hazardous waste) regulated under the Resource
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Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et. Seq., except for the wasted describe in 40 CFR 261.33;
In naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures prior to entry of the mixture into a natural gas processing plant or a petroleum refining process unit. Naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures include condensate, crude oil, field gas, and produced water as defined in 40 CFR 68.3.
Release-Toxic, Release-Flammable, and Release-Explosive Chemicals
Except as provided in the next three paragraphs, in calculating whether the facility possesses an amount that meets the STQ for release chemicals of interest, the facility shall only include release chemicals of interest:
 In a vessel as defined in 40 CFR 68.3, in an underground storage facility, or
 stored in a magazine as defined in 27 CRF 555.11;
In transportation containers used for storage not incident to transportation, including transportation containers connected to equipment at a facility for
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 loading or unloading and transportation containers detached from the motive power that delivered the container to the facility;
Present as process intermediates, by-products, or materials produced incidental to the production of a product if they exist at any given time;
In natural gas or liquefied natural gas stored in peak shaving facilities;
In gasoline, diesel, kerosene or jet fuel (including fuels that have flammability hazard ratings of 1, 2, 3, or 4, as determined by using National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) 704: Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of
Materials fro Emergency Response, which is incorporated by reference at
27.204(a)(2) stored in aboveground tank farms, including tank farms that are part of pipeline systems.
In calculating whether the FIMR facility possesses a chemical of interest that meets the STQ for this security issue, the facility need not include those chemicals of interest that the facility:
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Manufactures;
Processes;
Or uses in a laboratory at the facility under the supervision of a technically qualified individual as define in 40 CFR 720.3
This exemption does not apply to specialty chemical production; manufacture, processing, or use of substances in pilot plant scale operations; or activities, including research and development, involving chemicals of interest conducted outside the laboratory.
In calculating whether a facility possesses an amount that meets the STQ for propane, the facility need not include propane in tanks of 10,000 pounds or less.
If a release-toxic chemical of interest is present in a mixture, and the concentration of the chemical is less than one percent (1%) by weight of the mixture, the facility need not count the amount of that chemical in the mixture in determining whether the facility possesses the STQ.
Except for oleum, if the concentration of the chemical of interest in the mixture is one percent
(1%) or greater by weight, but the facility can demonstrate that the partial pressure of the regulated substance in the mixture (solution) under handling or storage conditions in any portion of the process is less than 10 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), the amount of the substance in the mixture in that portion of a vessel need not be considered when determining the STQ. The facility shall document this partial pressure measurement or estimate.
If a release-flammable chemical of interest is present in a mixture in a concentration equal to or greater than one percent (1%) by weight of the mixture, and the mixture has a National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) flammability hazard rating of 1, 2, or3, the facility need not count the mixture toward the STQ. The flammability hazard ratings are defined in NFPA 704: Standard
System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response.
If a release-flammable chemical of interest is present in a mixture, and the concentration of the chemical is less than one percent (1%) by weight, the facility need not count the mixture in determining whether the facility possesses the STQ.
For each release-explosive chemical of interest, a facility shall count the total quantity of all commercial grades of the chemical of interest toward the STQ, unless a specific minimum concentration is assigned in the Minimum Concentration column of Appendix A to part 27, in which case the facility should count the total quantity of all commercial grades of the chemical at the specified minimum concentration.
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Theft and Diversion Chemicals
In calculating whether the FIMR facility possesses a chemical of interest that meets the STQ for this security issue, the facility need only include those chemicals of interest that are not in transportation packaging, as defined 49 CFR 171.8
Where a theft/diversion chemical is designated by “CUM 100g” the facility shall total the quantity of all such designated chemicals in its possession to determine whether the facility possess levels that meet or exceed the STQ of 100 grams.
Where a theft/diversion-CWC/CWP (Chemical Weapons and Chemical Weapons precursors) chemical of interest is not designated by “CUM 100g” in Appendix A, and the chemical is present in a mixture at or above the minimum concentration amount listed in the Minimum
Concentration column of Appendix A to part 27, the facility shall count the entire amount of the mixture toward the STQ.
If a theft/diversion- WME (Weapon of Mass Effect) chemical of interest is present in a mixture at or above the minimum concentration amount listed in the Minimum Concentration column of
Appendix A to part 27, the facility shall count the entire amount of the mixture toward the STQ.
For each theft/diversion-EXP/IEDP (Explosives/Improvised Explosive Device Precursor) chemical of interest, a facility shall count the total quantity of all commercial grades of the chemical toward the STQ, unless a specific minimum concentration is assigned in the Minimum
Concentration column of Appendix A to part 27, in which case the facility should count the total quantity of all commercial grades of the chemical at the specified minimum concentration.
Sabotage and Contamination Chemicals
The facility meets the STQ for a sabotage/contamination chemical of interest if it ships the chemical and is required to placard the shipment of that chemical pursuant to the provisions of subpart F of 49 CFR part 172.
In regards to minimum concentration, the facility shall count the total quantity of all commercial grades of the chemical toward the STQ.
Chemical Inventory System
Each facility laboratory is responsible for updating the facility central inventory list, available on the facility shared drive, as they receive or dispose of chemicals. On a bi-monthly basis (every second month), the safety officer will cross-check this central inventory list against the DHS COI thresholds in Appendix A. COIs at or above the STQ for any applicable security issue will have a Top-Screen completed and submitted to the DHS within 60 calendar days of the chemical’s arrival at the facility. On a biannual basis, as a part of a secondary check, the facility safety officer will email Appendix A, as an Excel spreadsheet, to all facility laboratory heads instructing them to record the amounts of any chemicals they have in their laboratories (chemicals both included and not included on Appendix A) on the spreadsheet. Completed spreadsheets will then be returned to the facility safety officer who will total chemical amounts for the facility and proceed with a DHS Top-Screen if required.
Facility Security
The NSLIJHS security department, responsible for the facility, has a strong cooperative relationship with Nassau police, particularly with regard to anti-terrorism measures.
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The New Hyde Park and 350 Community Drive locations both have NSLIJHS campus security on a 24 hour, seven day-a-week basis. The latter location has a NSLIJHS security guard posted on a 24-hour, seven day-a-week basis at a security desk at a secured front door as well as security cameras around the building fed back to the security desk. The 250 Community Drive location has out-sourced security guards that patrol the exterior property. This location also has a 24-hour, seven day-a-week front door security guard (located at 125 Community Drive).
Limitations
The facility has examined and is fully aware of the limitations of its chemical inventory system.
Presently, the limitations surround central purchasing and receiving of chemicals. As such, measures are being undertaken to improve inventory quality of the facility such by facility administration and the NSLIJHS Office of Procurement.
COI Communications
The FIMR DHS Top Screen Program is an integral part of all communications among FIMR laboratory staff, vendors, and NSLIJHS Office of Procurement. These stakeholders understand what a COI is and how to find it in Appendix A.
COI Strategies
The Feinstein has established a series of strategies to avoid mandatory inclusion of the facility in the DHS Top Screen program including:
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Limiting or prohibiting the introduction of DHS COIs at the facility;
Investigate alternative processes that do not require the use of a DHS COI;
Investigate alternative storage such as storing COI at off-site locations in a manner that does not trigger the reporting requirement and then provide to users on an as-needed basis
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