News Releases

Board to Conduct Full Investigation of First Chem Explosion

Oct 23, 2002

(October 23, 2002 - Washington, DC) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) will conduct a full investigation of the October 13th distillation tower explosion at First Chemical Corp. near Pascagoula, Mississippi, where CSB investigators are continuing to conduct interviews and collect other data.

Board Deploys Field Investigation Team to Mississippi Accident Site

Oct 16, 2002

(October 16, 2002 - Washington, DC) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today deployed a field investigation team to the site of a chemical explosion at the First Chemical Corp. manufacturing facility near Pascagoula, Mississippi. The team, headed by lead investigator Steve Selk and accompanied by Board Member Dr. Gerald Poje, will review the circumstances of the Sunday morning explosion that seriously damaged a large nitrotoluene distillation tower and ignited fires in a storage tank and elsewhere. Three workers received minor injuries, and nearby residents were temporarily sheltered in place. The purpose of the initial field work will be to determine if the accident warrants a full-scale investigation, which would entail a thorough analysis of the event and its causes and of the safety systems in place at the plant. First Chemical Corp., a subsidiary of ChemFirst Inc., is a producer of aniline and nitrotoluene derivatives and intermediates.

U.S. Chemical Safety Board Votes 5-0 to Recommend New OSHA, EPA, and Industry Standards to Control Chemical Reaction Hazards

Sep 20, 2002

Sept. 20, 2002 - Washington, DC) Meeting before a public audience in Houston on September 17th, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) unanimously approved a total of 18 new recommendations to reduce the number of serious industrial accidents caused by uncontrolled chemical reactions and called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue new mandatory safety standards. CSB investigators told the Board members and the public that inadequate controls of chemical reaction hazards are responsible for continuing deaths, injuries, and environmental and property damage around the country. Three workers who were severely burned on March 27, 2000, in a reactive accident at Phillips Chemical Co. in Pasadena, Texas, spoke at the public meeting prior to the Board vote. For the first time the Board called on OSHA and EPA to extend their process safety regulations - known as the Process Safety Management standard and the Risk Management Program rule - to better control hazards associated with chemical reactivity. Under the terms of the Clean Air Act, OSHA and EPA must respond within no more than 180 days to the Board's recommendations.

Two-Year Staff Investigation Points to Gaps in OSHA and Industry Standards for Reactive Chemicals

Sep 17, 2002

September 17, 2002, Houston, TX -- The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) convenes in Houston today to vote on recommendations to OSHA, EPA, and trade groups to improve the safety of industrial processes that can experience hazardous chemical reactions. Inadequate controls of such "reactive hazards" are responsible for continuing deaths, injuries, and environmental and property damage around the country, according to the Board.

News Release August 28, 2002 - U.S. Chemical Safety Board Approves Findings and Recommendations in Aftermath of Motiva Refinery Sulfuric Acid Tank Farm Disaster

Aug 28, 2002

(Wilmington, DE - August 28, 2002) The U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today voted to recommend that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administation (OSHA) work to ensure that aboveground chemical storage tanks be regulated under OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard.

U.S. Chemical Safety Board Launches Full Investigation of St. Louis-Area Chlorine Gas Release

Aug 21, 2002

U.S. Chemical Safety Board Launches Full Investigation of St. Louis-Area Chlorine Gas Release (Washington, DC - August 21, 2002) The U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has announced it will conduct a full-scale investigation into the root causes of the three-hour chlorine gas leak at a DPC Enterprises plant in Festus, MO, about 35 miles south of St. Louis. The decision to launch a detailed investigation follows a preliminary assessment conducted by two CSB investigators who

CSB Sends Assessment Team to Missouri Chlorine Leak Site

Aug 14, 2002

(Washington, DC – August 14, 2002) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today dispatched two investigators to the scene of a chlorine gas leak at a rail tanker car loading facility south of St. Louis, MO. Investigators John Murphy and Giby Joseph will perform a preliminary assessment into the cause of the hazardous leak. Depending upon the outcome, the CSB could launch a full investigation of the event.

Hazard of Chemical Reaction "Not Recognized" At Former BP Amoco; CSB Recommends Safety Improvements

May 23, 2002

(Washington, DC - May 23, 2002) - The molten plastic that was involved in last year's fatal accident at the former BP Amoco plant in Augusta, Ga., was known by company researchers to undergo a gas-producing reaction at high temperatures, but the resulting dangers to workers were not adequately recognized or controlled in the plant design or operating procedures, federal accident investigators said today.

Chemical Safety Board Launches New Investigation

May 01, 2002

On Wednesday, May 1, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board initiated a new investigation into a chemical plant fire at Third Coast Packaging Company in Friendswood, Texas, near Houston. Friendswood is a rural area about 20 miles southeast of Houston. Third Coast Packaging manufactures automotive and industrial lubricants and packaging. According to initial reports, the fire stated about 1 AM, Wednesday, in a storage warehouse. Two warehouses have apparently been destroyed and at least 15 storage tanks were fully engulfed in flames.

CSB Investigators Probing New York City Building Explosion

Apr 26, 2002

April 26, 2002 - The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today deployed an investigative team to the site of a building explosion that injured dozens yesterday in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. The team will investigate early indications that the explosion may have been the result of a hazardous chemical reaction at the Kaltech Industries Group, a sign manufacturing company. The investigators will initially determine whether hazardous materials were stored in the mixed-use building and how the safety of those materials was managed. CSB Board Member Dr. Gerald Poje is en route to the accident site.

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