Recent Recommendation Status Updates

Each recommendation the CSB issues is monitored by CSB staff from the time it is issued to closing. CSB staff evaluate recipient responses, and the Board votes to assign status designations to recommendations based on staff evaluation. This page highlights recommendations for which the Board has recently voted to change the status of the recommendation. For more information on how the CSB defines its recommendation statuses, please visit the Recommendations Frequently Asked Questions page.

To contact CSB Recommendations Staff please email [email protected] 

 

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Recommendations

Dow Louisiana Operations Explosions (1 Recommendations)
Dow Chemical Company (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: February 26, 2026

2023-03-I-LA-1

At all Dow ethylene oxide facilities, identify all process lines in ethylene oxide service that should be or are inerted and currently are not continuously monitored during normal operation. For all lines identified, determine whether the line can be eliminated, and if not, establish proper controls such as inerting and monitoring to ensure the process line is adequately inerted.


Status: Open - Acceptable Response or Alternate Response
Open - Acceptable Response or Alternate Response (O - ARAR) - Response from recipient indicates a planned action that would satisfy the objective of the recommendation when implemented.
 

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Didion Milling Company Explosion and Fire (2 Recommendations)
Didion Milling, Inc. (2 Recommendations)
Open: 0% | Closed: 100%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: December 06, 2023

2017-07-I-WI-2

Contract a competent third party to develop and implement modifications to the pneumatic conveying and dust collector ductwork systems in accordance with guidance such as NFPA 61, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities, NFPA 652, Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust, and NFPA 654, Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids, to include, at a minimum:

a. Ensure minimum required transport velocity is maintained throughout the system.

b. Implement a periodic inspection and testing program for pneumatic conveying and dust collector ductwork systems, following industry guidance such as NFPA 91, Standard for Exhaust Systems for Air Conveying of Vapors, Gases, Mists, and Particulate Solids, and FM Global guidance. The program should include cleaning on a set frequency and measuring transport velocities on a routine basis to ensure proper system function.


Status: Closed - Acceptable Action
Closed - Acceptable Action (C - AA) - The recipient has completed action on the recommendation. The action taken meets the objectives envisioned by the Board.
 

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2017-07-I-WI-7

Contract a competent third party to update the facility emergency response plan and train all employees on updated emergency response plan. The update should include the guidance in NFPA 61, Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities, and NFPA 652, Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust, Chapter 8 and Section A.8.10.1, which includes, at a minimum, the following elements:

a. A signal or alarm system;

b. Emergency shutdown procedures; 

c. Provide instructions for when and how to trigger emergency evacuations;

d. Provide instructions for when to notify emergency responders for need of assistance;

e. Response to potential fire scenarios, such as smoldering fires inside equipment; and

f. Prevent firefighting of process fires inside equipment.


Status: Closed - Acceptable Action
Closed - Acceptable Action (C - AA) - The recipient has completed action on the recommendation. The action taken meets the objectives envisioned by the Board.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

Optima Belle Explosion and Fire (3 Recommendations)
Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) (1 Recommendations)
Open: 0% | Closed: 100%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: July 06, 2023

2021-02-I-WV-15

Update Guidelines for Process Safety in Outsourced Manufacturing Operations or develop a new tolling guidance document to supplement existing guidelines. The publication should include current best practices, introduce guidance specific to tolling brokers and/or project managing companies such as Richman Chemical Inc., and cross-reference and align with the comprehensive management systems framework and terminology contained in Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety and other contemporary industry good practice guidance.


Status: Closed - Exceeds Recommended Action
Closed - Exceeds Recommended Action (C - ERA) - Action on the recommendation meets and surpasses the objectives envisioned by the Board.
 

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Clearon Corporation (2 Recommendations)
Open: 0% | Closed: 100%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: July 06, 2023

2021-02-I-WV-6

Update the sodium dichloroisocyanurate dihydrate (CDB-56®) safety data sheet. At a minimum, the document should:

a) provide the underlying reasoning for the storage temperature maximum and the consequences of exceeding that temperature;

b) provide the underlying reasoning for the decomposition temperature and the consequences of exceeding that temperature;

c) explain or make clear the reason(s) for and/or the circumstance(s) resulting in the differences between the decomposition temperature and the lowest temperature at which self-accelerating decomposition may occur; and

d) provide the exothermic decomposition energy in the Physical Properties section.


Status: Closed - Acceptable Action
Closed - Acceptable Action (C - AA) - The recipient has completed action on the recommendation. The action taken meets the objectives envisioned by the Board.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2021-02-I-WV-9

Develop and implement a process safety management system consistent with industry guidance publications such as is contained in the Center for Chemical Process Safety’s Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety. At a minimum, the process safety management system should address hazard identification, risk analysis, and management of risk.


Status: Closed - Acceptable Action
Closed - Acceptable Action (C - AA) - The recipient has completed action on the recommendation. The action taken meets the objectives envisioned by the Board.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

Givaudan Sense Colour Explosion (12 Recommendations)
Corn Refiners Association (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: May 27, 2026

2024-06-I-KY-12

Alert association members who manufacture corn syrup of the November 12, 2024, Givaudan incident and its causes, including but not limited to the sugar ingredient decomposition reaction that led to Reactor 6’s rupture. Request that they update their corn syrup safety data sheets to include: the decomposition temperature, the consequences of exceeding that temperature, and the decomposition products produced (for example, carbon dioxide).


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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Givaudan - Corporate (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: May 27, 2026

2024-06-I-KY-8

Create and fill a corporate senior leadership position responsible for overseeing process safety at all Givaudan caramel coloring facilities or identify a current senior leader who is competent in process safety management concepts to fill this role. Establish this senior leader’s job duties to oversee the process safety management system implementation at all Givaudan caramel coloring facilities. Assign this individual to develop corporate-level process safety management system policies to ensure consistent development and implementation of process safety management systems at all Givaudan caramel coloring facilities. One of the policies will address training operations personnel on defined safe operating limits and actions to take if those limits are exceeded.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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Givaudan Caramel Coloring Facilities (7 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: May 27, 2026

2024-06-I-KY-1

Contract a third party to analyze the reactivity of the sugar ingredients in the caramel coloring product manufacturing process by, at a minimum:

a. Conducting calorimetry testing on at least one representative recipe for all caramel coloring product types to determine their temperature and pressure behavior upon heating.

b. Testing the composition of any produced non-condensable gases.

Maintain this information for use during future equipment design efforts and hazard analyses.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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2024-06-I-KY-2

Contract a third party to conduct a hazard analysis of each caramel coloring facility. Require this analysis to address reactivity hazards and include a review of the reactivity data obtained from implementing CSB Recommendation 2024-06-I-KY-R1. Implement the recommendations issued by the third party as a result of the hazard analyses.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2024-06-I-KY-3

Contract a third party to develop a process safety management system to be used at each caramel coloring facility. This third party shall:

a. Ensure the process safety management system is in alignment with current industry guidance such as the CCPS’s Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety.

b. Ensure that the process safety management system requires hazard reviews/analyses to be conducted at prescribed intervals and include:

(1) the review/incorporation of reactivity data from CSB Recommendation 2024-06-I-KY-R1 and any additional reactivity data obtained during the course of operating any caramel coloring facility,

(2) the review/analysis of any process changes that could affect relief system designs, and

(3) the review/updating of the facility siting study from CSB Recommendation 2024-06-I-KY-R7, as appropriate.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2024-06-I-KY-4

At each caramel coloring facility, hire a new or identify a current employee who is competent in process safety management concepts. Establish this employee’s job duties to specifically include overseeing the caramel coloring facility’s process safety management system established in 2024-06-I-KY-R3, its implementation, and personnel training on the system’s elements.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2024-06-I-KY-5

For each caramel coloring facility, contract a third party to design adequate emergency pressure relief systems for the vessels involved in caramel coloring manufacturing. Ensure the third party reviews/incorporates all reactivity data obtained from the testing required by CSB Recommendation 2024-06-I-KY-R1 when designing the emergency pressure relief systems. Document and maintain each vessel’s relief system design basis for the service life of the vessel.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2024-06-I-KY-6

For each caramel coloring facility, establish automatic alerts, such as alarms or control screen indications, to notify operators when a safe operating limit has been reached. Follow industry guidance, such as the guidance presented in the Center for Chemical Process Safety Book Guidelines for Engineering Design for Process Safety (2nd Edition), Chapter 5 General Design. Provide initial and refresher training for operations personnel on the established safe operating limits including the actions to take if these limits are exceeded.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2024-06-I-KY-7

Contract a third party to conduct a facility siting study before constructing caramel coloring facility(ies) to help protect facility occupants and critical equipment from hazards created by explosion, fire, or toxic material release, using published industry guidance, such as that in the Center for Chemical Process Safety book, Guidelines for Siting and Layout of Facilities.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

International Molasses Corporation LTD (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: May 27, 2026

2024-06-I-KY-11

Update all invert sugar safety data sheets to include: the decomposition temperature, the consequences of exceeding that temperature, and the decomposition products produced (for example, carbon dioxide).


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

International Technical Caramel Association (ITCA) (2 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: May 27, 2026

2024-06-I-KY-9

Publish a technical safety bulletin for caramel coloring manufacturing that encourages caramel color manufacturers to ensure known hazards, including sugar ingredient decomposition, are addressed. Emphasize the importance of obtaining information on calorimetric properties of sugar ingredients and ensuring appropriately sized emergency pressure relief systems to safely vent pressure and gases that could be produced by sugar ingredient decomposition reactions, as well as other overpressure scenarios identified in hazard analyses. Refer caramel color manufacturers to the CSB’s investigation report for additional details. Recommend in the technical safety bulletin that caramel coloring manufacturers implement, as appropriate, process safety management systems that are in alignment with local requirements and chemical industry good practice guidance, such as the Center for Chemical Process Safety Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety, Essential Practices for Managing Chemical Reactivity Hazards, and Guidelines for Implementing Process Safety Management.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary

2024-06-I-KY-10

Alert association members that manufacture caramel coloring of the November 12, 2024, Givaudan incident and its causes, including but not limited to the sugar ingredient decomposition reaction that led to Reactor 6’s rupture.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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PEMEX Deer Park Chemical Release (2 Recommendations)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: February 23, 2026

2024-05-I-TX-4

Develop written guidelines for marking equipment for opening. The guidelines should define a standard practice for equipment marking that includes clear identifiers of the area to be opened and means to remove the markings at the conclusion of the work.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

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PEMEX Deer Park (1 Recommendations)
Open: 100% | Closed: 0%
View Investigation
Final Report Released On: February 23, 2026

2024-05-I-TX-3

Establish a conduct of operations system that establishes and enforces behavioral and performance metrics in accordance with CCPS’s Conduct of Operations and Operational Discipline. The system should include:

a) the management commitment to process safety,
b) employee input on policies and procedures,
c) methods to ensure that policies and procedures can be effectively followed, to include, at a minimum:

1) permitting,

2) equipment marking, and

3) energy isolation procedures, and

d) regular audits to verify adherence to conduct of operations metrics, to include, at a minimum:

1) performance expectations,

2) training,

3) management visibility,

4) leadership by example, and

5) worker knowledge and awareness.


Status: Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response
Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response (O - ARE/AR) - The recipient has not submitted a substantive response, or the evaluation by CSB staff of a response is pending, or the Board has not yet acted on staff recommendation of status.
 

PDF Document Recommendation Status Change Summary