Reports Cover 30 Serious Chemical Incidents in 15 States including Maine, Oklahoma & West Virginia
Washington, D.C. July 22, 2025 – Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) announced that it has released Volume 3 of its Incident Reports.
Volume 3 covers 30 serious chemical incidents in 15 states: Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. These events resulted in two fatalities, 25 serious injuries, and approximately $1.8 billion in property damage.
The incidents in Maine and Oklahoma in particular caused damages of $350 million, and$930 million, respectively. The 30 incidents covered in Volume 3 occurred between April 2020 and January 2025.
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, “This third volume of reports reflects the CSB’s continued commitment to keeping the American people informed about the serious chemical incidents that occur every week across this country and the risks that these incidents pose to communities and workers, as well as the enormous economic impact that they have on the American chemical industry.”
Since July 2022, under the CSB’s current leadership, the agency has been posting overall data on its website about the incidents reported under the ARRR, including the name and location of the chemical facility involved in the incident, the date of the incident, and whether the incident involved a fatality, serious injury, or substantial property damage. In the five years that the CSB’s reporting rule has been in effect, the CSB has received reports of over 500 serious chemical incidents in 43 states.
Like Volume 1 & Volume 2 each Incident Report includes a summary of the event and its probable cause – information that has not previously been released to the public.
The CSB is an independent nonregulatory federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result, or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances. The agency’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].