The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has launched a new initiative to provide the public with more details about chemical incidents reported to the CSB since the agency’s Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR) went into effect in March 2020. The CSB will compile summaries of reported incidents and regularly make them available on its website.
This first volume, released Jan. 14, covers 26 accidental release events in 15 states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Together, the events resulted in five fatalities, 17 serious injuries, and approximately $700 million in property damage.
Each incident report includes a summary of the event and its probable cause – information previously unavailable to the public.
CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, “The American people have a right to know about the kinds of dangerous chemical incidents that happen across this country every week. Since the CSB’s reporting rule went into effect, the agency has received hundreds of reports on incidents involving releases of hazardous chemicals that have put communities, workers, and the environment at serious risk.”
The CSB has been posting overall data on its website about the incidents reported under the ARRR since July 2022, including the name and location of the chemical facility involved, the date of the incident, and whether the incident involved a fatality, serious injury or substantial property damage.
“Preparing these incident reports and making them available to the public is an important next step in the CSB’s commitment to transparency and information-sharing,” said Owens in a press statement.
