CSB Announces Public Meeting in Washington, D.C. to Vote on Key Safety Recommendations and Initiate the CSB’s Most Wanted Program
Washington, DC, July 15, 2013 – Today the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announces that it will hold a July 25, 2013 public meeting in Washington, to consider whether the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has adequately implemented seven regulatory recommendations issued by the CSB, as well as to consider the selection of the agency’s first “Most Wanted Chemical Safety Improvement” issue. This action would mark the first “Most Wanted” issue selected for special advocacy initiatives on behalf of the agency’s board members.
To send comments to be read aloud at the CSB's meeting email them to [email protected].
To listen to the conference via phone please use the following number and participant code:
Access Number: 1.800.920.7487
Participant Code: 44665662#
The meeting will be held at the Horizon Room at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, located at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20004. The morning session will commence at 9:30 am; the afternoon session will begin at 1:30 pm.
The morning session will include consideration by CSB board members to designate the following recommendations to OSHA with the status of “Open- Unacceptable Response,” signifying that the Board does not consider that OSHA has adequately implemented these recommendations:
- Recommendation No. 2001-05-I-DE-R1, issued to pursuant to the CSB’s investigation of the July 2001 atmospheric tank explosion at the Motiva refinery in Delaware City, DE The recommendation calls upon OSHA to ensure coverage under the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard, CFR 1910.119, for atmospheric storage tanks that could be involved in a potential catastrophic release as a result of being interconnected to a covered process with 10,000 pounds of a flammable substance.
- Recommendation No. 2005-4-I-TX-R9, issued pursuant to the CSB’s investigation of the March 2005 explosions and fire at the BP Texas City refinery The recommendation calls upon OSHA to amend PSM to require management of change (MOC) reviews to be conducted for organizational changes (e.g., mergers and acquisitions) that may impact process safety.
- Recommendation No. 2005-4-I-TX-UR1, issued pursuant to the CSB’s investigations of the June 2009 explosion and roof collapse at the ConAgra SlimJim facility in Garner, NC and the February 2010 explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, CT. The recommendation calls upon OSHA to issue a fuel gas safety standard for construction and general industry.
During the afternoon session, the Board will consider designating four recommendations to OSHA calling for the issuance of a comprehensive general industry standard for combustible dust with the status “Open- Unacceptable Response.” These recommendations arose from the CSB’s Combustible Dust Study as well as its investigations of the 2008 explosions and fire at the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth, GA, and three dust-related incidents at the Hoeganaes Corporation in Gallatin, TN.
The Board will also consider designating a combustible dust standard as the agency’s first “Most Wanted Safety Improvement” and therefore the subject of more intense agency advocacy efforts, based on its guidance in the recently adopted Board Order 46. This would be the first time that the agency makes such a selection.
The hearing is free and open to the public. During both the morning and afternoon sessions, members of the audience will have an opportunity to provide comments on the pending actions to be voted by the Board. More information about the meeting may be found here.
Related CSB Products:
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. More information is available at www.csb.gov.
For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen, (202) 261-3601, cell (202) 446-8094 or Sandy Gilmour at (202) 251-5496.
More information about the meeting may be found here.
To send comments to be read aloud at the CSB's meeting email them to [email protected].
Dial-In Information (Listen-only):
Access Number: 1.800.920.7487
Participant Code: 44665662#