CHEMICAL SECURITY BECOMING MAJOR ISSUE ON COAST

Richard Gollott never thought he would have to spend more than $6,000 and
hire a full-time security guard to keep people from stealing anhydrous
ammonia from his Biloxi seafood packing company.

"That was the least of my worries," said Gollott, vice president of Golden
Gulf Coast Packing Co. on Bayview Avenue. "The ammonia tank is on top of a
plant building. It's hard enough to get up there just to take care of the
valves. To climb up there and steal is just insanity."

Anhydrous ammonia is used as a coolant in commercial and industrial
refrigerators like Freon is used in homes. The chemical is also a key
ingredient in making methamphetamine and the only ingredient that can't be
bought in stores.

Anhydrous ammonia is stored under pressure as a liquid. When released, it
is a toxic gas that can cause burns, respiratory problems or explosions.

Clay Gutierrez, vice president of Biloxi-based Global Seafood Technologies
Inc., said he spent almost $3,000 to repair damage caused to his business
because of repeated attempts to steal ammonia.

"Every other weekend, people were cutting holes in the building with tools
and saws," Gutierrez said. "Those people are crazy. I'm surprised we never
came in to work one day and found someone lying dead from inhaling ammonia
vapor."

Anhydrous ammonia and other hazardous chemicals aren't hard to find on the
Coast, where companies such as DuPont DeLisle, First Chemical and Wellman
Inc., dot the landscape. According to documents filed annually with county
civil defense offices and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency,
several companies have millions of tons of hazardous chemicals on site
every day.