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The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) updated National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs), which continue the EPA’s focus on reducing risks of accidental releases at industrial and chemical facilities. For the first time, the EPA’s initiatives emphasize inspecting and addressing noncompliance at facilities that use […]
On August 2, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a letter sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) urging the commission to address hurricanes and other high-wind extreme weather events in updates to its Transmission System Planning Performance Requirements for the nation’s bulk-power system. The CSB pointed out to FERC […]
On July 6, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its final report on a fatal incident on December 8, 2020, at Optima Belle LLC in Belle, West Virginia. The board also recently closed two other investigations. During Optima Belle’s production of a sanitizing compound for Clearon Corporation, a dryer at the […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a final report on a hydrogen chloride (HCl) release at the Wacker Polysilicon North American facility in Charleston, Tennessee. A worker was fatally injured in the incident. The CSB found that at the time of the incident in November 2020, there were multiple contract workers […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its final report on a fatal acetic acid release at the LyondellBasell La Porte Complex in La Porte, Texas, on July 27, 2021. The inadvertent removal of the pressure-retaining components of a valve caused the release of 164,000 pounds (lb) of an acetic acid mixture, […]
Six safety lapses led to an April 2018 refinery explosion and fire at the Husky Superior Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin, that injured 36 workers, caused roughly $550 million in damage to the facility, and released 39,000 pounds of flammable hydrocarbon vapor into the air, according to a final report released December 29 by the U.S. […]
A safety video released October 27 by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigations Board (CSB) reached 1 million views on YouTube within a week, the CSB announced November 7. The video, “Wake Up Call: Refinery Disaster in Philadelphia,” details the June 21, 2019, fire, series of explosions, and toxic hydrofluoric acid (HF) release at […]
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a pair of videos on chemical accident investigations that concluded last fall. The safety videos explored the causes of an explosion and a fire at the AB Specialty Silicones in Waukegan, Illinois, which killed four workers, destroyed the facility’s production building, and caused extensive damage […]
On May 4, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) adopted a final report on an October 26, 2019, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) release at the Aghorn Operating waterflood station in Odessa, Texas. The toxic gas release fatally injured an Aghorn employee who was working at the facility, as well as his spouse, who […]
The fiscal year (FY) 2020 report by the EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) on the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board’s (CSB) management challenges reveals that the board’s continued issues will impede its ability to effectively operate.