CISA Publishes Two CFATS Fact Sheets for Aluminum Powder

Yesterday, CISA published links to two aluminum powder related fact sheet on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program landing page. The first flyer provides a brief overview of the requirement to report to CISA when a facility has 100-lbs (or more) of various forms of aluminum powder in inventory. The second flyer briefly notes that the 3d-printing industry frequently uses various forms of aluminum powder and thus may have reporting requirements under the CFATS program.

Aluminum powder is a precursor chemical for certain types of improvised explosive devices (IED). This makes it a DHS chemical of interest (COI) under the CFATS program. As an IED precursor it has a 100-lb screening threshold quantity for any commercial grade of aluminum powder or paste. Because IED precursors are a theft-diversion risk chemical, CISA is concerned with any aluminum powder or paste that is stored in transportation packaging, not bulk storage.

This is just another example of how much the CFATS program affects a wide range of companies outside of the conventional chemical industry. The program is targeted at the security of chemicals that could be used by terrorists as weapons or used to make terrorist weapons.