Washington, DC, September 5, 2015 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced that it will convene an interim public meeting on Wednesday, September 30, 2015, in Houston, Texas, where the CSB’s board members will consider safety recommendations resulting from a November 15, 2014, fatal chemical release at the DuPont La Porte facility.
The accident at DuPont’s La Porte facility, located east of Houston, killed four workers and injured three others when methyl mercaptan, a toxic chemical used in the company’s insecticide manufacturing process, was released.
CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said, "The CSB team investigating this tragic accident has produced safety recommendations that the Board will consider during our public meeting in Houston. This will be my first public meeting since commencing my tenure as chairperson in August. The Board anticipates communicating results of our investigation and our recommendations to the family and friends of the victims, members of the community, and of course to DuPont. I want the community to know the Board is committed to keeping the investigation on schedule with the goal of preventing a similar accident from occurring at the DuPont facility and at other sites across the country.”
The CSB’s investigation into the November 15 accident is still ongoing, the September 30th interim meeting will include a vote on proposed safety recommendations related to the start-up of the unit where the four fatalities occurred.
At the meeting, CSB investigators will present their findings and proposed recommendations. The presentation will include an animation depicting the events that led to the tragedy.
The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. at a downtown Houston Hotel, to be decided. The meeting is open to the public and will include a comment period prior to the Board's consideration of the draft safety ecommendations. The meeting is expected to conclude at approximately 9:00 p.m.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but to assure adequate seating attendees are strongly encouraged to pre-register by emailing their names and affiliations to [email protected].
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious 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 companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Please visit our website, www.csb.gov.
For more information, please contact Public Affairs Specialist Shauna Lawhorne at [email protected].