News Releases

Board to Convene March 20 Public Meeting in Texas City, Texas, to Release and Vote upon Final Report on BP Refinery Disaster

Mar 07, 2007

March 7, 2007 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced today that it will convene a public meeting on the evening of Tuesday, March 20, 2007, at the Nessler Center in Texas City, Texas, to release its final investigation report on the explosion at the nearby BP refinery that took 15 lives and injured 180 on March 23, 2005.

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CSB Issues Final Report and Safety Video on Formosa Plastics Explosion in Illinois, Concludes That Company and Previous Owner Did Not Adequately Plan for Consequences of Human Error

Mar 06, 2007

Springfield, Illinois, March 6, 2007 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today issued its final report on the explosion and fire that destroyed the Formosa Plastics plant in Illiopolis, Illinois, on April 23, 2004, concluding that the accident occurred when an operator overrode a critical valve safety interlock on a pressurized vessel making polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride liquid and vapor discharged into the plant and was ignited, resulting in a massive explosion.

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CSB Issues Final Report on Chlorine Release at DPC Enterprises in Glendale, Arizona: Report Notes Company's Lack of Engineering Safeguards

Feb 28, 2007

Phoenix, Arizona, February 28, 2007 - In a final report issued today, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) concluded that insufficient safety margins, a lack of engineering safeguards, unclear procedures and training, and an absence of published guidance were among the causes of a release of up to 1,920 pounds of chlorine from the DPC Enterprises facility in Glendale, Arizona, on November 17, 2003.

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Statement of CSB Supervisory Investigator Don Holmstrom Updating the Public on the Investigation of the Valero McKee Refinery Fire

Feb 21, 2007

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CSB Investigation Team to Begin Field Assessment of Explosion at Valero Refinery near Dumas, Texas

Feb 17, 2007

An investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the Valero McKee refinery near Dumas, Texas, north of Amarillo, where an explosion yesterday injured a number of workers and forced the shutdown of the facility.

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Statement from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board of Jeffrey Wanko, Lead Investigator for the Ghent Propane Explosion

Feb 15, 2007

The CSB investigation continues into the cause or causes of the tragic propane explosion at the Little General Store in Ghent, West Virginia, on January 30, 2007.

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CSB Investigation of Danvers Accident Continues as Team Weighs Explosion Models; CSB Chairman Urges All Businesses Pay Heightened Attention to Flammable Solvent Safety

Feb 06, 2007

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is continuing its investigation to determine the root causes of the powerful explosion in Danvers, Massachusetts, which damaged or destroyed dozens of homes and businesses during the early morning hours of November 22, 2006.

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CSB Continues Investigation of West Virginia Propane Explosion

Feb 01, 2007

Carolyn W. Merritt, Chairman, U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issues the following statement Thursday February 1, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.:

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CSB Deploys Investigative Team to Assess Fatal Explosion at Service Station in Ghent, West Virginia

Jan 30, 2007

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying an investigative team to conduct an assessment of today's fatal fuel tank explosion at the Flat Top Little General Store and gas station in Ghent, West Virginia, sixty miles southeast of Charleston.

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Statement from Carolyn W. Merritt, Chairman and CEO, U.S. Chemical Safety Board, on the Release of the BP Refineries Independent Safety Review Panel Report

Jan 16, 2007

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