Washington — “It is past time for regulators to fully recognize the hazards presented by reactive chemicals,” Katherine Lemos, chair and CEO of the Chemical Safety Board, says in a new video in which the agency calls on OSHA and the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen their standards on these substances.
The 15-minute video, released April 28, details CSB’s investigation of a fatal May 2019 incident at AB Specialty Silicones in Waukegan, IL. An explosion and fire at the manufacturing plant killed four workers. The agency determined that two incompatible chemicals were mixed during production of an emulsion product, producing flammable hydrogen gas that triggered the explosion.
In the video, lead investigator Vonzella Vincent says AB Specialty Silicones lacked a process safety management program at the time of the incident.
“In processes that rely on operators to gather and mix chemicals, it is critical that companies reduce the risk of human error by making it easy to do the job right and hard to do the job wrong,” Vincent says. “In this case, that could have been as simple as having written procedures that specify storing incompatible chemicals in separate areas and in different-colored containers.”
CSB offers multiple recommendations.
To OSHA:
- Amend the standard on process safety management of highly hazardous chemicals (1910.119) to achieve more comprehensive control of reactive hazards that could have catastrophic consequences.
- Augment the process hazard analysis element of the standard to explicitly require an evaluation of reactive hazards.
To EPA:
- Revise the accidental release prevention requirements to explicitly cover catastrophic reactive hazards that have the potential to seriously impact the public, including those resulting from self-reactive chemicals and combinations of chemicals and process-specific conditions.
“Closing the regulatory gap will prevent further tragic incidents and save lives,” Lemos says in the video. “Together, we can impact safety for our chemical industries, our workers, our community and our environment.”
During a Dec. 9 National Safety Council webinar on OSHA’s current activities, agency officials said OSHA intends to conduct a stakeholder meeting regarding its standard on PSM.
New board members aim to continue ‘incredibly important work’
CSB showed a portion of the video during its most recent public business meeting, the first for recently sworn-in CSB members Sylvia Johnson and Steve Owens.
The meeting coincided with Workers’ Memorial Day, observed each April 28 to honor individuals who have lost their lives on the job. That resonated with Johnson, whose mother, a shirt factory worker, died at age 61 from a work-related illness.
“It’s vitally important to me that the people and the public and the environment are protected as we do our work at this agency,” Johnson said. “And in particular, the workers are the ones on the front lines and often in harm’s way, and so I want to be able to work toward continuing to have safer workplaces.”
Added Owens: “Even with all of the challenges that have faced the Chemical Safety Board over the years and are currently facing us now as board members, the Chemical Safety Board has been doing incredibly important work.”
Johnson and Owens join Lemos, who had guided the agency as a self-described quorum of one since May 1, 2020, on the board. A frequent target for elimination under the Trump administration, CSB now has two vacant board seats remaining.
Lemos expressed optimism in the agency’s continued work. CSB Director of Recommendations Chuck Barbee said the agency, as of April 26, has closed 32 recommendations in fiscal year 2022, doubling the total from the previous public business meeting in January. Additionally, Barbee anticipates CSB will surpass the 41 closed recommendations it recorded in FY 2021.
