Washington, DC, April 19, 2013 – Due to the deployment of a significant number of CSB personnel to the site of Wednesday's deadly fertilizer plant explosion near Waco, Texas, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced that it is postponing its April 24 public meeting in Washington, DC, focused on operator fatigue and other open safety recommendations. A new meeting date will be announced in the near future in the Federal Register and on the agency’s website.
The meeting was scheduled for the Board to consider and vote upon the status of a 2007 CSB recommendation to the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the United Steelworkers International Union (USW), and on the status of three other recommendations issued to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) between 2002 and 2010.
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. Visit our website, www.csb.gov.
For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen at (202) 446-8094 or Sandy Gilmour at (202) 251-5496.