That last bit has been on my mind since Jan. 20, when the second Trump administration took office. I’ve contacted sources within the CSB and those who deal with the independent federal agency to ask whether they know the fate. No one has answered, and I am guessing it’s because they don’t know. And I’m not pressing this issue because I’m superstitious and don’t want to jinx things.
However, I did attend CSB’s quarterly meeting April 24 to see if any hand-tipping would happen. It was business as usual — impressive business.
The meeting presented findings and updates to several investigations.
This includes the agency’s final report on the November 2023 fire at Marathon Martinez Renewables Facility in California. The fire seriously injured one employee with third-degree burns over 80% of his body and caused approximately $350 million in property damage. In addition to the site-specific recommendations, CSB offered key lessons for the industry, including:
“Process equipment must be configured with safe operating limit (not-to-exceed limit) alarms that alert personnel that the equipment has reached an unsafe condition, troubleshooting efforts need to end and predetermined actions must be taken swiftly to shut down or return the equipment to a safe state,” and “Companies should implement Walk the Line practices to minimize equipment lineup errors. Walk the Line activities include verifying valve positions before starting up a unit, understanding operating procedures and equipment routings, and properly communicating and documenting shift turnover information.”
The case was among eight ongoing investigations, one of the agency’s largest caseloads in years, said CSB Chair Steve Owens.
Other major incidents under investigation include a fatal hydrogen sulfide release in October 2024 at Pemex Petroleum Refinery in Deer Park, Texas, that killed two workers, injured dozens and prompted community shelter-in-place orders. CSB is continuing to gather facts and analyze several key areas, including: safe work practices, human factors, turnaround and maintenance policies and procedures, emergency preparedness and response systems, respiratory protection procedures and training and remote isolation capability. Also under investigation is a fatal November 2024 explosion at Givaudan facility in Louisville, Kentucky, that resulted in two employee deaths, injured others and damaged surrounding neighborhoods with debris traveling up to 400 feet away. CSB’s update outlines the investigation’s path forward, which will include: testing the raw materials to identify potential reactive hazards, analyzing the batch reactor relief system, reviewing process data and process conditions leading to the incident, further analyzing the recovered vent valve and actuator and evaluating emergency response efforts.
The agency also released a new safety report to mark the 20-year anniversary of the March 2005 BP Texas City Refinery disaster that killed 15 people and injured 180 others. The report included a summary of CSB recommendations and industry improvements implemented since the disaster.
While CSB has documented progress related to industry safety, more needs to be done to reduce hazards at chemical operations, Owens said.
“CSB is committed to ensuring that a catastrophe like BP Texas City never happens again,” he said.
CSB Reduces Backlog
Owens highlighted several agency achievements during the two-hour call. Since 2022, CSB has eliminated a backlog of 17 open investigations, some dating back to 2016, and has completed 19 investigations.
CSB receives weekly reports of serious chemical incidents nationwide, though many incidents don't meet CSB’s reporting criteria and go unreported, according to Owens.
During the call, Owens noted that the agency, which does not issue fines or citations, already has a lean staff with an annual operating budget of $14.4 million. To put that into perspective, OSHA’s budget for FY 2024 was $632 million.
In what I'm calling a read-between-the-lines comment, Owens said, "I believe that it's fair to say that the CSB has now become one of the most productive and efficient agencies in the federal government."
Despite the limited resources, the agency compiles detailed investigation reports from its accidental release reporting rule, which has become a go-to tool for the chemical industry to identify recurring incident patterns and implement preventative measures.
Board member Catherine Sandoval also highlighted CSB's safety videos as another important agency achievement. YouTube recognized CSB in February for reaching 100,000 subscribers on its USCSB YouTube channel.
The videos are part of the agency’s efforts to go beyond the recommendations to help facilities reduce risk, Sandoval said.
“CSB investigations involve literally thousands of hours of work by experts and staff members — most of them are chemical engineers. Some have a variety of degrees; the CSB brings tremendous expertise to both investigations and the recommendations,” said Sandoval. “What we offer is the insight of our recommendations, the insight of our analysis and the power of dialogue to help us come together as a national team to really improve safety so that we can protect workers, protect communities, protect the environment, and indeed protect these facilities."
I will knock on wood that they can continue to do so, because every worker should be given the opportunity to go home after their shift.
