News Releases

CSB Probe of Point Comfort Formosa Plastics Incident Continues as Team Weighs Safety Issues; No Root-Cause Investigation Planned

Oct 14, 2005

Washington, DC, October 14, 2005 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is continuing its probe of the propylene fire and explosions that heavily damaged an olefins unit at the Formosa Plastics facility in Point Comfort, Texas, on October 6, injuring approximately 13 workers. Most injuries were minor, but two workers were admitted to the burn unit at a Galveston hospital, and one remains hospitalized there.

Board to Hold October 27 Community Meeting in Texas City, Texas, to Release Preliminary Findings and Hear Public Comments on BP America Texas City Refinery Investigation

Oct 12, 2005

Washington, DC, October 12, 2005 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has announced a community meeting in Texas City, Texas, on Thursday, October 27, 2005, at 6:00 p.m. at the Doyle Convention Center. At the meeting, CSB investigators will present preliminary findings in their investigation of the March 23, 2005, explosion and fire at BP America's Texas City refinery.

CSB Deploys Investigation Assessment Team to Site of Formosa Plastics Explosion in Point Comfort, Texas

Oct 06, 2005

Washington, DC, October 6, 2005 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is deploying a five-person assessment team to the site of an explosion and fire at the Formosa Plastics plant in Point Comfort, Texas, on the Texas coast.

CSB Determines Fatal 2003 Incident at Hayes Lemmerz Plant in Indiana Most Likely Caused by Explosion in Dust Collection System; Company Did Not Identify or Control Hazards of Aluminum Dust

Oct 05, 2005

Huntington, Indiana, Oct. 5, 2005 - The fatal explosion and fire at the Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., aluminum wheel plant was caused by the ignition of fine powdered aluminum in a dust collection system in which hazards were neither identified nor adequately addressed, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) said today in issuing its final report on the incident.

In Wake of Hurricane Katrina, CSB Issues Safety Bulletin Urging Oil and Chemical Facilities to Take Special Safety Precautions During Startups

Sep 08, 2005

Washington, DC, September 8, 2005 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today issued a Safety Bulletin urging oil and chemical facilities to take special precautions when restarting in the wake of shutdowns due to Hurricane Katrina.

CSB Issues Urgent Safety Recommendation to BP Global Board, Calls for Creation of Independent Panel to Examine Corporate Safety Management, Oversight, and Safety Culture

Aug 17, 2005

Houston, Texas, August 17, 2005 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, (CSB) today issued an urgent recommendation calling on the BP Global Executive Board of Directors to commission an independent panel that would review a range of safety management and culture issues in the wake of recent chemical accidents at BP's south Texas facilities.

Ruptured Transfer Hose Caused August 11 Chlorine Release at Honeywell Plant in Baton Rouge; Rapid Shutoff Attributed to Upgraded Safety Systems

Aug 12, 2005

Washington, DC, August 12, 2005 - A three-person assessment team from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) said that a ruptured chlorine transfer hose, which was being used to unload a railroad chlorine tank car, resulted in the chlorine release yesterday morning at the Honeywell International plant in Baton Rouge, LA. Investigators Lisa Long, Allen Smith, and Katherine Leskin conducted interviews with employees today and will continue their work on Saturday.

CSB Investigators Return to Honeywell Baton Rouge Facility to Examine Chlorine Release Day After Agency Issued Report on Previous Chlorine Release and Other Incidents

Aug 11, 2005

Washington, DC, August 11, 2005 - A three-person team from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is deploying to Baton Rouge to examine this morning's chlorine release at the Honeywell International plant. The incident occurred approximately 24 hours following a news conference in Baton Rouge at which CSB Chairman Carolyn Merritt and Lead Investigator Lisa Long presented the final CSB Investigation Report on three Honeywell toxic chemical releases - one involving chlorine - that occurred over a four-week period in the summer of 2003.

CSB States Three Honeywell Baton Rouge Accidents in 2003 Were Avoidable; Final Report Finds Inadequate Hazard Analyses, Work Practices Common to All

Aug 10, 2005

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August 10, 2005 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today released a final report on its investigation of three incidents that occurred at the Honeywell International, Inc., plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2003. Each involved toxic releases and in one case, the death of a worker.

CSB Investigators Continue Assessment of July 28 Explosion and Fire at BP Texas City Refinery

Jul 30, 2005

Washington, DC, July 30, 2005 - Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board today continued a preliminary investigation into the explosion and fire which occurred at the BP Texas City refinery on Thursday, July 28, 2005. CSB Investigators Giby Joseph and Francisco Altamirano visited the site where the accident occurred for a second time. They continued interviewing plant operators, and requested additional documentation and other information from the company regarding the chemical process underway at the time of the accident. They arranged for eyewitnesses to be interviewed early in the week, and announced their intention to arrange testing protocols -- to examine a pipe that separated from a flange -- to determine what caused it to fail. Mr. Joseph said the explosion occurred during what appeared to be a normal operation in the reactor section of the plant's Resid Hydrotreater Unit # 1, or RHU, when an eight-inch pipe connected to a heat exchanger failed at the flange. (Flanges are pipe fittings which are used to connect equipment such as pipes and valves.)

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