U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) announced that it is launching a new initiative to give the public more details about the serious chemical incidents that have been reported to the CSB since the agency’s Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR) went into effect in March 2020.  The CSB will be compiling summaries of reported incidents and making them available to the public on the CSB’s website on a regular basis.

The CSB released Volume One of the Incident Reports today.  This first volume 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 5 fatalities, 17 serious injuries, and approximately $700 million in property damage.

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.”