News Releases

Board Investigators Returning to Site of Recent Gas Explosion near Dayton, Ohio

Sep 29, 2003

(Washington, DC - September 29, 2003) Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) are returning today to the site of last week's violent explosion at the Isotec chemical manufacturing plant in Miamisburg, Ohio, southwest of Dayton. The explosion ruptured a carbon monoxide pipe and ignited the gas, prompting a precautionary evacuation that affected about 2000 residents within a mile of the plant. CSB lead investigator John Vorderbrueggen and Board member John Bresland were en route back to the site and were expected to meet with concerned citizens today. The effectiveness of the emergency response and the evacuation order are important issues in the case, investigators say.

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Board Votes 5-0 to Approve Reports in BLSR, Environmental Enterprises Cases

Sep 17, 2003

(Washington, DC, September 17, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) unanimously approved two investigation reports in a public meeting today Washington, concluding that last January's deadly fire at an oilfield waste disposal facility south of Houston could have been avoided if the companies involved had safer procedures for handling flammable wastes.

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CSB Investigators Cite Lack of Effective Management Systems in Hydrogen Sulfide Incident at Cincinnati Waste Disposal Plant

Sep 17, 2003

(Washington, DC, September 17, 2003) A release of potentially deadly hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at the Environmental Enterprises Inc. (EEI) waste treatment facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, resulted from treating chemical wastes in an inappropriate vessel, according to investigators from U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) speaking today a Board public meeting.

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Board Votes 5-0 to Approve Reports in BLSR, Environmental Enterprises Cases

Sep 17, 2003

(Washington, DC, September 17, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) unanimously approved two investigation reports in a public meeting today Washington, concluding that last January's deadly fire at an oilfield waste disposal facility south of Houston could have been avoided if the companies involved had safer procedures for handling flammable wastes.

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CSB Investigators Find Lack of Hazard Recognition, Unsafe Handling of Flammable Liquids Caused BLSR Fire

Sep 17, 2003

(Washington, DC, September 17, 2003) Last January's deadly fire at an oilfield waste disposal facility south of Houston could have been avoided if the companies involved had safer procedures for handling flammable wastes, investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) reported today in a public meeting.

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Board to Convene September 30 Public Meeting in New York City on Kaltech Investigation

Sep 08, 2003

(Washington, DC -- September 8, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has announced it will convene a public meeting in New York City on September 30, 2003, to present its final report into the April 2002 explosion at a commercial building on West 19th Street in the Chelsea district of Manhattan.

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Board to Convene September 17 Public Meeting in Washington, DC, on BLSR and Environmental Enterprises Investigations

Sep 08, 2003

(Washington, DC -- September 8, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has announced it will convene a public meeting in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2003, to present final reports on two recent investigations.

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Board to Convene September 17 Public Meeting in Washington, DC, on BLSR and Environmental Enterprises Investigations

Sep 08, 2003

(Washington, DC -- September 8, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has announced it will convene a public meeting in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2003, to present final reports on two recent investigations.

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CSB Investigative Team Returning to Honeywell's Baton Rouge, LA Facility

Aug 14, 2003

(Washington, DC - August 14, 2003) Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) are returning to the Honeywell refrigerant plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana today. This will be the third time in just over three weeks that the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has responded to an incident at this facility. CSB investigators will include yesterday's spill of hydrofluoric acid in their ongoing investigation into two earlier incidents. The acid spill Wednesday morning burned one worker and caused inhalation problems in another. Both were reported hospitalized.

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CSB Chair Carolyn Merritt Commends New Jersey Officials On Reactive Hazards Safety Action

Aug 12, 2003

Washington, DC, Aug. 12, 2003 --U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chair Carolyn Merritt today commended the recent action by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection which adds reactive chemicals to the list of "extraordinarily hazardous substances" that trigger the risk management planning requirements of New Jersey's Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act. The action is designed to provide greater protection for residents living near industrial facilities. Chairman Merritt said, "The CSB is very concerned about reactive hazards. I am happy to see this kind of life-saving action being taken in New Jersey and commend New Jersey officials. We would like to see action taken on a federal level as well in the interest of protecting workers and residents who live near chemical plants." Following an extensive, two-year study of reactive hazards in the chemical industry, the 5-member CSB Board last fall approved recommendations to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on the need for additional regulation of reactive hazards. The CSB study identified 167 reactive incidents which caused 108 deaths over a twenty year period. Dr. Gerald Poje, on behalf of the CSB, earlier this year had urged New Jersey officials to take action.

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