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PHILADELPHIA -- With a growing sense of urgency, more than 400 of the nation's chemical, transportation and national security leaders converged here Tuesday to give America's chemical industry a brotherly shove toward beefing up security at their plants.

The three-day Philadelphia summit comes as Congress begins debate on a slew of new measures designed to shore up security at sites across the country that make, store or ship deadly toxins and explosives.

"Let me be very, very clear. If we do no talk about the actions we are taking, and publicly illustrate our commitment, then we will allow our detractors to attack this industry and erode the effectiveness of our efforts," Greg Lebedev, chief of the American Chemistry Council, said during his keynote address.

The ACC represents the interests of the nation's largest chemical manufacturers on Capitol Hill. In October, it spearheaded a successful drive to crush the Chemical Security Act, a bill that would have federalized securing at nearly 13,000 sites nationwide. Key to the bill was a measure forcing major manufacturers to shift production to "inherently safer" materials and technologies.

Without federal legislation, chemical security is being addressed by the new Department of Homeland Security.

Executives from Bayer, Nova Chemicals and Flexys America, a manufacturer in Monongahela, arrived from the Pittsburgh area. The summit was held a year after a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review probe found security dangerously lax at more than 60 major chemical sites in Baltimore, Chicago, Houston and Pittsburgh. The Trib's findings were replicated in follow-up investigations by the Department of Justice and the General Accounting Office.

"You and your employees must understand what's at stake," said Sally Canfield, a policy director at Homeland Security. "And that's half the battle. Too many companies believe security is a low priority, if it's a priority to them at all."

Canfield cited a recent federal study that found half of all chemical plants failed to implement "the basics" of security since Sept. 11, 2001, including instituting employee background checks, counter-terrorism plans and routine emergency drills with local fire and police departments. That, said U.S. Secret Service Agent Zachary Ainsworth, is why chemical plants remain a "tempting target" in "a target-rich society."

Throughout the day, industry leaders agreed, conceding that many of their largest and most dangerous facilities still lack armed guards, perimeter fencing or even nighttime patrols.

But they also insist they have upgraded protections for their workers and neighbors. Dozens of companies told about adding lights, barbed wire, hiring round-the-clock guards and, in a few instances, even substituting less-dangerous chemicals for toxic chemicals.

The larger the company, the more likely the reforms, with industry giants like Dow leading the way.

"The chemical industry recognizes it has a responsibility," said Joseph Acker, president of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association, a trade organization. "We know we have to act quickly and we've come a long way.

"Obviously, now the game has changed since 9/11. We've looked at our sites from a new perspective, looking at their attractiveness to terrorists, and we're doing something about it."

While leaders in the environmental movement appreciate the industry's stab at better security, they say companies aren't going far enough.

"Clearly, the missing element of the chemical industry's summit is a willingness to reduce hazardous materials on site," said Paul Orum, a researcher with the private Working Group on Community Right to Know in Washington, D.C. "The best way to reduce the attractiveness of a chemical plant to terrorists is to reduce the chemicals on site."

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