Category: CSB Investigation

“CSB Releases Safety Bulletin on Anhydrous Ammonia Incident near Mobile, Alabama”

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Safety Bulletin Notes Five Key Lessons to Prevent Hydraulic Shock January 15, 2014, East Rutherford, NJ - Today the U.S. Chemical Safety Board released a safety bulletin intended to inform industries that utilize anhydrous ammonia in bulk refrigeration operations on how to avoid a hazard referred to as hydraulic shock.  The safety lessons were derived … Continue reading “CSB Releases Safety Bulletin on Anhydrous Ammonia Incident near Mobile, Alabama”

“CSB Warns About Danger of Hot Work on Tanks Containing Biological or Organic Material”

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Earlier this month a team of CSB investigators deployed to the Omega Protein facility in Moss Point, Mississippi, where a tank explosion on July 28, 2014, killed a contract worker and severely injured another. Our team, working alongside federal OSHA inspectors, found that the incident occurred during hot work on or near a tank containing … Continue reading “CSB Warns About Danger of Hot Work on Tanks Containing Biological or Organic Material”

CSB Investigation Warns of Dust Explosion Risk at Recycling Facilities

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The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released its final report, safety recommendations and accompanying safety video into a fatal combustible dust explosion at the AL Solutions metal recycling facility in New Cumberland, West Virginia. As presented to the Board for a vote at a public meeting in Charleston, the report reiterates a recommendation that … Continue reading CSB Investigation Warns of Dust Explosion Risk at Recycling Facilities

CSB Draft Report Finds Deepwater Horizon Blowout Preventer Failed Due to Unrecognized Pipe Buckling Phenomenon During Emergency Well-Control Efforts on April 20, 2010, Leading to Environmental Disaster in Gulf of Mexico

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   Report Says Similar Accident Could Still Occur, Calls for Better Management of Safety-Critical Elements by Offshore Industry, Regulators     Houston, Texas, June 5, 2014— The blowout preventer (BOP) that was intended to shut off the flow of high-pressure oil and gas from the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico during the disaster on … Continue reading CSB Draft Report Finds Deepwater Horizon Blowout Preventer Failed Due to Unrecognized Pipe Buckling Phenomenon During Emergency Well-Control Efforts on April 20, 2010, Leading to Environmental Disaster in Gulf of Mexico

CSB Releases Safety Message Featuring Sister of Worker Fatally Burned in 2010 Tesoro Refinery Explosion in Washington State

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  Washington, D.C., March 12, 2014 - Today the CSB released its second safety message in an occasional series focusing on the impacts  of chemical accidents  on people’s lives. The short video features Amy Gumbel, sister of Matt Gumbel - one of the workers fatally injured in the 2010 explosion and fire at the Tesoro … Continue reading CSB Releases Safety Message Featuring Sister of Worker Fatally Burned in 2010 Tesoro Refinery Explosion in Washington State

Testimony of CSB at Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing – Chevron Fire, West Texas Explosion & West Va. Water Crisis

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U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso at March 6, 2014, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing Entitled “Preventing Potential Chemical Threats and Improving Safety: Oversight of the President’s Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security” CLICK HERE to view the written statement Chairman Boxer, Senator Vitter, and distinguished Committee members – … Continue reading Testimony of CSB at Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing – Chevron Fire, West Texas Explosion & West Va. Water Crisis

CSB Chair Applauds Changes to ICC Codes Addressing Gas Blow Pipe Cleaning Operations and Hot Work‏

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Washington, DC, February 6, 2014 ­– The chairperson of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today commended the International Code Council (ICC) and its members for revising the International Fire Code (IFC) and International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) to prohibit the unsafe practice that killed six workers in a tragic explosion at the Kleen Energy … Continue reading CSB Chair Applauds Changes to ICC Codes Addressing Gas Blow Pipe Cleaning Operations and Hot Work‏

CSB Deploys to Elk River Chemical Spill in Charleston, West Virginia

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CSB Deploys to Chemical Spill in Charleston, WV Washington DC, January 11, 2014 – An investigative team from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the scene of a massive spill into the Elk River in Charleston, WV. According to local authorities the leak originated from a storage tank at Freedom Industries – … Continue reading CSB Deploys to Elk River Chemical Spill in Charleston, West Virginia

CSB Finds Fatal 2009 NDK Explosion Resulted from Stress Corrosion Cracking of High-Pressure Vessel; Crystal Maker Failed to Inspect or Test Vessels and to Heed Earlier Warning about Risk to Public

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo7H_ILs1qc   CSB Finds Fatal 2009 NDK Explosion Resulted from Stress Corrosion Cracking of High-Pressure Vessel; Crystal Maker Failed to Inspect or Test Vessels and to Heed Earlier Warning about Risk to Public Rockford, Illinois, November 14, 2013—An explosion which occurred December 7, 2009, at the NDK Crystal manufacturing company in Belvidere, Illinois, fatally injuring … Continue reading CSB Finds Fatal 2009 NDK Explosion Resulted from Stress Corrosion Cracking of High-Pressure Vessel; Crystal Maker Failed to Inspect or Test Vessels and to Heed Earlier Warning about Risk to Public

CSB Chair Calls for Regulatory Coverage of Reactive Chemicals Following the West Fertilizer Explosion and Fire

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Washington, DC, August 20, 2013 – In a new video safety message released today, CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso calls for regulatory coverage of reactive chemicals following the massive ammonium nitrate explosion that killed at least 14 people and devastated the town of West, Texas, on April 17, 2013. Reactive chemicals, like ammonium nitrate, can undergo … Continue reading CSB Chair Calls for Regulatory Coverage of Reactive Chemicals Following the West Fertilizer Explosion and Fire

CSB – West Fertilizer and Williams Olefins Explosions Testimony

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CLICK HERE to view the written statement CLICK HERE to view the CSB’s preliminary findings BEGIN TESTIMONY Chairman Boxer, Senator Vitter, and distinguished Committee members – thank you for inviting me today.  I am CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso. The two explosions we are discussing today – West Fertilizer and Williams Olefins – are tragedies of … Continue reading CSB – West Fertilizer and Williams Olefins Explosions Testimony

Few Texas Counties Follow Federal Chemical Preparedness Law – (LEPC’s)

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by BRETT SHIPP -WFAA Posted on May 14, 2013 at 6:05 PM Updated today at 8:31 PM NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES A statewide survey by News 8 has found a dramatic lack of compliance with a federal mandate that orders counties to operate a planning committee that helps anticipate and respond to emergencies at plants storing … Continue reading Few Texas Counties Follow Federal Chemical Preparedness Law – (LEPC’s)