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More than three years after the 9/11 attacks, a federally funded report released Wednesday on security and safety at 125 major U.S. chemical plants has determined that although most facilities have improved protective fences and hired guards, they remain vulnerable to assault and continue to endanger millions of Americans.

The study commissioned by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union -- known in the industry as PACE -- determined that despite improvements, manufacturers have failed to take steps to prevent or prepare for a release of toxins at some of the nation's largest plants.

It's the most comprehensive survey of security gaps at chemical plants and echoes earlier reports on plant security problems by the Government Accounting Office, CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

While the PACE study found that nearly three-quarters of the plants had improved systems to guard their tanks of toxic chemicals and had conducted drills to respond to an assault, less than half had strengthened their communications, emergency training, warning signals, protective equipment or even contacted local police and fire departments about the potential terrorist hazards on their sites.

PACE found no evidence that nearly two-thirds of the plants had shared concerns with their neighbors -- many of whom would be killed, injured, trapped or displaced by a major release of chemicals -- about what could happen in the event of a terrorist attack. PACE would not identify the plants it surveyed.

"This subject is incredibly important," said David Ortlieb, PACE's health and safety director. "One a scale of one to 10, it's a 10. This industry has been fixated on gates, guards and guns, but we fear that these security reforms fuel misconceptions about how best to prevent intentional terrorist acts."

PACE's recommendation: A new law, such as one proposed by Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., that quickly reduces storing of the most deadly chemicals onsite, mandates new technologies that would mitigate a disaster and pushes for less lethal processes to make the products.

Department of Homeland Security officials in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the report or its proposed remedies.

The department continues to work closely with major industry trade groups led by the American Chemistry Council, which represents 140 of the nation's largest manufacturers. They're supporting a bill sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, that, like Corzine's bill, is bogged down.

While not calling for reductions in the amounts of catastrophic chemicals in a facility, Inhofe's bill would require better security plans, traditional security upgrades and put plant protection in the hands of Homeland Security.

More than 2,000 Chemistry Council facilities have spent $800 million on security reforms since 2003, according to the group.

"We think what our members are doing is the right thing," said spokeswoman Kate McGloon. "People should know that we support legislation here. We do not feel that any security gap is acceptable."

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