Trump's plan to close chemical safety agency creating safety concerns

Chemistry World has reported that US chemistry organisations and the chemical industry have come together to oppose President Trump’s elimination of the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) — the only US agency charged with carrying out independent investigations of industrial chemical accidents. In his budget blueprint for 2018, released earlier this month, Trump proposed ending funding for the US$11 million organisation that has run for almost two decades.

The CSB’s chairwoman, Vanessa Sutherland, called the attempt to eliminate the agency “an attack on the safety and security of America’s workers”, and organisations like the American Chemical Society (ACS) were severely critical of the White House plan. “It is a short-sighted proposal,” warned ACS spokesperson Glenn Ruskin. “The CSB was created through the Clean Air amendments of 1990 and it really fills a vital role in promoting safety in the entire chemistry enterprise — industry, academia and government.”

Businesses that employ hazardous materials face potentially catastrophic accidents but often lack the in-house expertise to investigate and might be reticent to share lessons learned owing to liability concerns, according to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). “Recognising these issues, Congress created the Chemical Safety Board so we can benefit from ongoing expertise to investigate major accidents and disseminate best practices and technologies to minimise catastrophic incidents,” the AIChE explained in a statement. “We believe that this is a competence that must be maintained and a need that we must continue to meet.”

The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) also expressed serious concerns about the proposal. The lobby group said it supports the CSB and its work and will be asking Congress to continue funding it.

The American Chemistry Council declined to comment on the future of the CSB but said that one of its top priorities is ensuring the safe development, use and disposal of chemicals in commerce.

Since its inception, the CSB has made nearly 800 safety recommendations to industry, government agencies, labour unions and others. The agency has also issued 90 reports detailing the conditions that led to major chemical incidents and making distinct recommendations on how to prevent similar incidents.

CSB investigations have included the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in April 2010, which killed 11 people and caused a devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; the massive chemical spill in West Virginia that contaminated the tap water of 300,000 people in January 2014; and the explosion at West Fertilizer chemical plant in Texas later that year, which killed 15 people and injured more than 200.

The CSB was accused of inaction amid internal conflict after its chairman, Rafael Moure-Eraso, resigned in 2015. He had faced growing congressional and White House pressure following allegations of mismanagement and misuse of private email. In addition, CSB Managing Director Daniel Horowitz has been on administrative leave since mid-2015, pending an internal investigation. The probe has focused on activities raised by a House Republican committee staff report, released back in June 2014.