News Releases

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.

CSB Releases Case Study of Concept Sciences Explosion

Feb 01, 2002

(Washington, DC - February 1, 2002) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board today issued a case study of a destructive explosion that occurred at the plant of Concept Sciences Inc., near Allentown, PA, on February 19, 1999. As a result of the explosion four Concept Sciences employees and the manager of an adjacent business were killed. Two Concept Sciences employees were injured, as were four people in nearby buildings. The explosion damaged ten buildings and several residences in the immediate area.

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Launches Probe of Fatal Alabama Mill Incident

Jan 23, 2002

(Montgomery, Alabama --- January 23, 2002) Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) Tuesday continued their examination of last week's fatal incident at Georgia Pacific Corp.'s Naheola Mill. Meanwhile, a CSB Board member who met Tuesday with plant management at the mill says he is appreciative of the companys pledge of cooperation with the CSB investigation.

Final Board Report on Fatal Bethlehem Steel Fire Finds Inadequate Supervision of Hazardous Maintenance Work

Jan 16, 2002

MERRILLVILLE, INDIANA, JANUARY 16, 2002 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board today released the results of its investigation into the fatal incident that occurred on February 2, 2001, at the Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor Mill in Chesterton, Indiana. The Board identified several causes of the incident, including inadequate management systems for the supervision, planning and execution of maintenance work.

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