Posts Tagged ‘Chemical Safety Board’

Chemical Safety Board on budget chopping block

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017

Photo: Chemical Safety Board

One of President Trump’s key campaign promises was to keep Americans safe, but apparently that promise should come with an asterisk. The news that the Chemical Safety Board is on the budget chopping block contradicts that promise – unless by “safe” we are only talking about threats from sources external to our borders.

The 40-employee Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is the only independent government agency that investigates industrial chemical disasters, issuing reports and safety recommendations to benefit industries throughout the nation. It issues no fines or penalties and makes no rules. Its investigations and reports also identify weaknesses in emergency planning and response that have preventative value not just for workers but also for the communities surrounding potentially hazardous work sites. Its annual budget of around $11 or 12 million is minuscule, particularly when measured against the enormous human and financial toll that a single chemical industrial disaster can inflict.

The Houston Chronicle doesn’t mince any words when talking about the impact of the agency’s demise: ‘Death and destruction’ expected as Trump moves to gut Chemical Safety Board

“A White House proposal to eliminate funding for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board signals a full retreat from two decades of progress against chemical disasters and would, if enacted, put American lives in jeopardy, health and safety experts said.

While little known to the masses, the CSB is to chemical disasters what the much better-funded National Transportation Safety Board is to airline crashes, train derailments and bridge collapses. Without the recommendations that come from these boards, preventable accidents repeat themselves.”

Texas is no stranger to chemical catastrophes. The CSB was instrumental in investigating the 2005 explosion at BP’s Texas City refinery that killed 15 and the 2013 explosion at the West Fertilizer Company that rocked the small town of West, Texas. That incident killed 5, injured more than 250 and damaged 150 buildings.

In Trump Budget Would Eliminate Chemical Safety Board, Jack Kaskey and Jennifer A. Dlouhy of Insurance Journal also highlight the important role that the CSB plays in investigating accidents, and offers several concrete examples of industry recommendations that enhanced safety practices in dangerous industries.

“The CSB makes no rules and issues no penalties, but often identifies dangerous industry practices that are overlooked by enforcement agencies. Its scope of responsibility has included multi-fatality disasters from a 2013 fertilizer distributor in West, Texas, to BP Plc’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blowout in 2010.

CSB probes have led to many industry improvements that have saved lives without gaining public notice, said Michael Wright, director of health, safety and environment for the United Steelworkers of America. After a 2012 fire at a Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, California, the CSB discovered that the pipe used was subject to corrosion and rupture because of the materials it carried. Though there were no rules against using that kind of pipe, the industry changed its practice because of the CSB, Wright said in a phone interview.”

The CSB issued this statement in response to news of the cuts:

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is disappointed to see the President’s budget proposal to eliminate the agency. The CSB is an independent agency whose sole mission is to investigate accidents in the chemical industry and to make recommendations to prevent future accidents and improve safety. For over 20 years, the CSB has conducted hundreds of investigations of high consequence chemical incidents, such as the Deepwater Horizon and West Fertilizer disasters. Our investigations and recommendations have had an enormous effect on improving public safety. Our recommendations have resulted in banned natural gas blows in Connecticut, an improved fire code in New York City, and increased public safety at oil and gas sites across the State of Mississippi. The CSB has been able to accomplish all of this with a small and limited budget. The American public is safer today as a result of the work of the dedicated and professional staff of the CSB. As this process moves forward, we hope that the important mission of this agency will be preserved.

 

Here are just a few other notable CSB investigations we recall:

Other commentary on the proposed elimination of CSB

 

 

New developments in the UCLA lab death of Sheri Sangji

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

We’ve previously posted about the death of chemical research assistant Sheri Sangji, who was killed as a result of a 2008 UCLA laboratory fire. She was working with a dangerous chemical that ignited when exposed to air. Her terrible burns proved fatal some 18 days after the accident.
After numerous investigations, UCLA chemistry professor Patrick Harran (her supervisor) and the UC Board of Regents faced felony charges for three counts each of willfully violating occupational health and safety standards. These charges sent shock waves through university labs throughout the country since this was the first time that a U.S. professor ever faced a felony charge in relation to the death of a lab worker.
Last week, felony charges were dropped against UC regents after a plea deal in which the University agreed to implement a comprehensive safety program and to establish a $500,000 scholarship in Sangji’s name. The University will provide enhanced safety training and protective equipment across all its campuses.
Professor Patrick Harran’s case was continued until September to allow his defense to prepare a challenge to the credibility of the chief California OSH investigator. As the LA Times puts it, “Proceedings against a UCLA chemistry professor in the death of a lab worker take a strange turn when the defense alleges state investigator committed murder as a teen.” It’s a pretty bizarre development, one that is under much discussion in the scientific community. See Facing felony charges in lab death of Sheri Sangji, UCLA settles, Harran stretches credulity.
For ongoing developments in this case, we point you to the ongoing blog postings — 42 as of today — of Chemjobber on the Sheri Sangji case. Not only does Chemjobber provide excellent informed commentary and links to a variety of sources, his postings also include interesting comments from others in the scientific community, from both private industry and university labs.
In the wake of this tragic accident which has had widespread coverage, safety in university labs had really been under scrutiny. Despite the vast scope of academic research, it has largely been unregulated. This case may be the turning point in ushering in a new era of a “culture of safety.”
Below, a good video that the Chemical Safety Board issued in response to this and other two other tragic accidents that occurred in university labs.

CSB Key lab safety lessons and recommendations

  • Ensure that research specific hazards are evaluated and then controlled by developing specific written protocols and training
  • Expand existing laboratory safety plans to address physical hazards of chemicals
  • Ensure that safety personnel report to a university official who has the authority to oversee research laboratories and implement safety improvements
  • Document and communicate all laboratory near-misses and incidents

Inferno: Combustible dust explosion at Imperial Sugar – video report

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

We recently posted about the Imperial Sugar Company explosion report issued by the US Chemical Safety Board, but more recently we found a video version, which we think is well worth the nine and a half minutes it takes to view it. Using computer graphics, it clearly explains how the accident happened and the conditions that led to it. It should be mandatory viewing by the 100,000 at-risk organizations that have the potential for such explosions, but think “it can’t happen here.”

Imperial Sugar Refinery report: routine housekeeping might have prevented explosion

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

A year and a half after the Imperial Sugar combustible dust explosion, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued its final report on the explosion, which killed 14 workers and injured 36 others, leaving some with permanent, life-altering conditions. In short, the CSB found inadequate housekeeping and maintenance, largely preventable conditions. In addition, CSB found inadequate emergency evacuation plans. The linked article from WTOC-TV above has a summary with photos, as well as related stories. Or you can read the entire 89-page Investigation Report – Sugar Dust Explosion and Fire – Imperial Sugar Company (PDF).
The initial explosion occurred in a closed steel conveyor belt, triggering a series of secondary explosions and fireball eruptions throughout the buildings. The fatalities occurred in the secondary explosions.
Last year, OSHA proposed $8.7 million in fines on the company for more than 100 violations, fines that Imperial Sugar is currently battling in court.
As part of the report, the CSB recommended that OSHA establish mandatory standards for combustible dust. Critics say that this recommendation isn’t strong enough, and that OSHA’s current rule making process will take too long. They note that under a federal workplace safety law, OSHA can adopt an emergency temporary standard, which would circumvent the red tape to get something in place quickly.
A good source of information on combustible dust is the Combustable Dust Policy Institute blog. This blog states that although OSHA lists 30,000 facilities in its National Emphasis Program, there are actually more than 100,000 facilities at risk, which includes many national industries not listed in the Dust NEP. They track media accounts of combustible dust incidents, and found that last year, about 50% of the incidents occurred in national industries not referenced in the OSHA’s dust NEP. Another source of information that we turn to on combustible dust and other public health issues is the excellent blog, The Pump Handle, which provides informed commentary from experts.
For another perspective on the Imperial Sugar explosion, the Joseph M. Stiller Burn Center included Battling Big Burns: The Imperial Sugar Company Fire (PDF) in its summer 2008 newsletter. The article offers an overview of the complexity of issues involved in managing large disasters, including issues directly related to caring for critically burned patients.