Washington, D.C. February 2, 2023 – With the swearing in of law professor Catherine Sandoval today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) now has three Board members again for the first time since last July. Sandoval was nominated to the CSB Board by President Joe Biden in June 2022, when the Board had three members, but the then-CSB Chair resigned shortly thereafter, leaving the CSB with just two Board members, Sylvia Johnson and Steve Owens, both of whom joined the agency in February 2022. Sandoval was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2022.
By law, the CSB is supposed to have five Board members. The agency has not had a full Board since 2011, however.
CSB Chairperson Owens said, “We are delighted to have Cathy Sandoval join us on the CSB Board, and we are looking forward to working closely with her to continue to rebuild and revitalize the CSB and protect communities, workers and the environment from chemical disasters.”
Prior to joining the CSB, Board Member Sandoval was as a tenured professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law in California, and she has had extensive experience in both government and the private sector.
Board Member Sylvia Johnson said, “The CSB has an ambitious report release schedule this year. We are pleased to have Cathy Sandoval on board and ready to help the CSB meet our goals and objectives.”
Board Member Sandoval said, “I am thrilled to begin my term as CSB Board Member. I look forward to working with my fellow Board Members to continue to reduce the backlog in investigation reports and help increase safety at chemical facilities throughout this country.”
The CSB’s core mission activities include conducting incident investigations; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.
The agency's board members are appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.
Please visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen at [email protected].