The accident was investigated by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), which found that lessons from two previous but less severe incidents could have helped prevent the 2010 explosion had they been formally documented and communicated. The CSB concluded that “entities looking to improve safety should encourage the reporting of such incidents, even when injuries or damage do not result, as accidents and near-miss reports indicate critical areas where safety controls may be needed.”
by Ariana Remmel | April 26, 2022
—US Senate confirms Chemical Safety Board nominees “” Two new members of the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) were confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 9. The five-member board had been hamstrung, operating with a single member since April 2020. The new members are Sylvia Johnson, an epidemiologist with labor union experience, and Stephen Owens, an attorney and former federal and Arizona state regulator who focused on environmental, safety, and health issues. President Joe Biden also nominated Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist and toxicologist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit organization, to the CSB. Sass faced criticism from Republican senators during her confirmation hearing in September. Her nomination was not brought up with those of Johnson and Owens for consideration by the Senate.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | December 17, 2021
The House hearing came as three CSB nominees await a confirmation vote by the full Senate. Opposite the committee members was the sole CSB member, chairperson Katherine Lemos. For more than a year, the CSB has operated with four members short of its full complement of five. The current state of affairs is in large part a consequence of Donald J.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | October 06, 2021
The CSB found that workers inadvertently mixed several incompatible chemical compounds that were stored near each other in nearly identical drums, generating hydrogen gas that ignited. The facility lacked an adequate ventilation system and a working alarm system, the CSB noted. At the meeting announcing the reports, CSB chairperson Katherine Lemos said that reactive chemicals, such as those used by AB Specialty Silicones, are regulated by neither the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration nor the Environmental Protection Agency.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | October 01, 2021
—US Chemical Safety Board closer to getting 3 more members “Panel faces backlog of accident investigations” The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) moved a step closer to becoming fully functional July 29 as a Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee considered three presidential nominees for the panel.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | August 08, 2021
CSB acting managing director David LaCerte and Stephen Klejst, executive director for investigations and recommendations, traveled to “engage with Federal, State and local emergency responders, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others” and “gather information from the incident site and make a recommendation on how best to proceed,” the CSB says in a statement. Neither official has chemical manufacturing experience: LaCerte is an attorney who worked with the US Office of Personnel Management and Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, and Klejst is a safety professional who came to the CSB from the US National Transportation Safety Board and the railroad industry. Investigators from other federal agencies have determined that the incident was not caused by suspicious or criminal activity, the CSB statement says. /safety/industrial-safety/Chemical-Safety-Board-sends-2/99/i24 20210626 Concentrates 99 24 /magazine/99/09924.html Chemical Safety Board sends 2 staff to Chemtool plant after fire Industrial safety, safety, csb, chemical safety board, chemtool, lubrizol con govpol Jyllian Kemsley safety industrial-safety business specialty-chemicals All 70 workers that were in the Chemtool plant in Rockton, Illinois, evacuated safely after it caught fire June 14.
by Jyllian Kemsley | June 26, 2021
—Company operating failures led to deaths of husband and wife from hydrogen sulfide exposure “” The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) places primary responsibility on Texas-based Aghorn Operating for failures that led to the death of an employee and his wife in 2019. The two died at an oil-field pumping station where water was recycled from oil operations and injected back underground to drive more oil to the surface.
by Jeff Johnson, special to C&EN | May 27, 2021