April 29 is drone safety day. Yes, there is such a thing, and the Federal Aviation Administration has all sorts of resources to help users responsibly handle drones. The American Chemistry Council is weighing in with a wish list for policymakers regarding drones and chemical facilities.
According to an April 28 press release, the ACC has stated:
First, the FAA must publish its Congressionally mandated drone security rule. The agency must allow facility operators to apply for airspace restrictions or drone prohibitions to help protect their site. These critical tools are needed to help prevent using drones for industrial espionage and potential terrorist attacks. As it stands now, the rule is long overdue, which is forcing the country to rely on a patchwork of state laws to address the threat and leaving a major gap in national security.
Indeed, in early March Jonathan Katz, Chemical Processing’s executive editor, reported the arrest of two men flying drones over chemical facilities near New Orleans.
The ACC’s second request: Congress should include additional drone protections in the upcoming FAA reauthorization bill that would allow facilities to use counter-drone technologies. This includes methods to detect and track, or in some cases, safely disable a drone.
Drones have almost limitless potential to help with a variety of tasks, but they must be operated responsibly and safely. The FAA and Congress must take the necessary steps to keep our skies safe and secure.
Last year Chemical Processing’s Seán Ottewell wrote about chemical facilities turning to drones to aid in reliability and maintenance. The story noted “The key benefits center around their ability to improve personal safety and reduce operational costs such as scaffold erection or travel to remote locations, plus the ability to gather more-frequent and -thorough data at locations like piping bridges where access was previously impossible.”