News Releases

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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CSB Investigative Team Heading to Site of Baton Rouge Chlorine Accident

Jul 21, 2003

(Washington, DC - July 21, 2003) Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) are en route to the site of yesterday's chlorine gas release at the Honeywell refrigerant plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The release early Sunday morning resulted in the hospitalization of four plant workers and required about 600 nearby residents to shelter in their homes. Several residents also sought medical evaluation.

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Preliminary Findings Indicate Combustible Dust, Likely Ignited by a Malfunctioning Oven, Caused Fatal CTA Explosion

Jul 08, 2003

(Corbin, KY, July 8, 2003) The explosion and fire at the CTA Acoustics plant in Corbin, KY, earlier this year was caused when combustible dust in the plant ignited, according to preliminary findings of investigators of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

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Board Releases Safety Bulletin on Nitrogen Asphyxiation Hazards, Underscores Need for Good Safety Practices

Jun 25, 2003

Washington, DC - June 25, 2003) Reporting that nitrogen asphyxiation has caused 80 fatalities in the U.S. over the last decade, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today released a new safety bulletin that presents a series of good safety practices to prevent nitrogen-related incidents.

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Preliminary Findings Confirm Blast at West Pharmaceutical Services in Kinston, NC, Was a Dust Explosion Fueled by Plastic Powder Used in Manufacturing

Jun 18, 2003

(Kinston, NC - June 18, 2003) Investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) told a community audience here tonight that last January's massive blast at medical device maker West Pharmaceutical Services, which killed six workers and injured dozens more, was in fact an explosion of fine plastic powder used in the manufacturing of rubber products.

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CSB Board Votes 5-0 to Approve Report on DPC Chlorine Release, Calls for Industry-Wide System for Hose Identification

May 01, 2003

(Festus, MO - May 1, 2003) Saying that better equipment maintenance and quality assurance programs could have prevented last year's atmospheric release of chlorine from DPC Enterprises in Festus, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board today approved its final report and recommendations on the accident and called for industry-wide measures to improve chlorine safety.

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CSB Releases Preliminary Findings in Kaltech Industries April 25, 2002, Explosion in New York - Cites Improper Mixing of Waste Chemicals, Lack of Workplace Safety Procedures

Apr 16, 2003

(New York City - April 16, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) today will present preliminary findings from an investigation into the April 25, 2002, explosion at Kaltech Industries, which injured 31 people seriously enough to seek hospital treatment, including 14 members of the public.

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CSB Sending Investigation Team To Explosion Site In Louisville, KY

Apr 11, 2003

(Washington, DC, April 11, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is deploying a team of investigators to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the explosion and ammonia gas release at the D.D. Williamson & Co. food additive manufacturing plant in Louisville, KY.

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Board Member Poje Testifies in New Jersey on Reactive Hazards

Mar 17, 2003

Washington, DC - March 17, 2003 - Board Member Dr. Gerald Poje told New Jersey state regulators in Trenton today that their new proposed reactive hazards regulation "includes actions in line with the Board's recommendations to OSHA." Reactive hazards are the dangers associated with uncontrolled chemical reactions in industrial processes. These uncontrolled reactions - such as thermal runaways and chemical decompositions - have been responsible for numerous fires, explosions, and toxic gas releases. From 1980 and 2001, 167 serious reactive accidents caused 108 fatalities in the U.S., according to the CSB's reactive hazards investigation.

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CSB Board Unanimously Finds Inadequate Fire Detection and Protection Systems Led to May 1st Disaster at Houston Area Third Coast Plant

Mar 06, 2003

(Houston, TX - March 6, 2003) Better fire protection systems could have suppressed the huge fire that swept through the Third Coast Industries facility south of the city last year, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has found in a report approved unanimously today at a CSB public meeting in Houston.

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