The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the agency charged with investigating toxic chemical fires, explosions and releases, is understaffed, facing a record backlog and needs urgent reforms, say 22 labor, environmental, scientific and public interest organizations. The United Steelworkers Union (USW), Earthjustice, the Union for Concerned Scientists, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) and other groups, in a letter to CSB Chairperson Katherine Lemos, call for the agency to rebuild its investigative capacity in order to fully protect workers and communities from potentially deadly hazards. Signatories also include the AFL-CIO, Greenpeace US, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA).
The CSB reportedly has a backlog of 19 uncompleted investigations dating back to 2016. Thirty-two people died and 87 were injured in these incidents. The agency is currently down to just 12 investigators, the lowest number in recent CSB history. By statute, the agency is supposed to have five board members; three nominations by President Biden are pending before the U.S. Senate.
In their joint letter to Lemos, 22 organizations are calling for urgent reforms, which can be implemented within the agency’s current $12 million annual budget. These include:
- A specific accounting of the current backlog and plan to resolve these investigations;
- A plan to hire more qualified investigators with diverse skills and backgrounds;
- A memorandum of understanding with the Department of Homeland Security to restrict Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity during active CSB investigations so that workers are not afraid to come forward and be witnesses;
- A return to the policy – approved by a vote of the full CSB in 2019 but now ignored – of including the names of deceased victims of chemical incidents in CSB investigative reports;
- Improved governance including a return to setting policy by majority rule instead of sole action by the CSB chairperson and increased transparency and public engagement.
“It’s good news that new board members have been nominated to the CSB, but this is a severely troubled agency that requires ongoing attention from the White House and Congress,” says Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, co-executive director of National COSH. “We need to build on a strong record of bipartisan support for the CSB’s mission to fix this agency and give workers and communities located near chemical facilities the protections they deserve.”
For more information, visit: www.nationalcosh.org
