The five-seat Chemical Safety Board remains four board members short – a situation that is raising concern at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Short staffing “impairs the function” of the CSB and “continues to be the biggest risk” to agency operations, the EPA Office of Inspector General maintains in a new report, according to Safety and Health Magazine. CSB Chair and CEO Katherine Lemos is the sole member of the board, having held the lone filled seat since May 2020.
The November 10 report contends that the lack of a full board “may prevent the CSB from achieving its stated mission to ‘drive chemical safety change through independent investigation to protect people and the environment,’” according to the article. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved CSB board nominees Sylvia Johnson, Steve Owens and Jennifer Sass in September. The trio are still awaiting confirmation from the full Senate.
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