Inspectioneering

Chemical Safety Board (CSB)

Explore this topic

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is an independent federal agency in the United States that is in charge of investigating and reporting on accidents involving chemicals. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The CSB conducts root cause investigations of chemical accidents at fixed industrial facilities. Root causes are usually deficiencies in safety management systems, but can be any factor that would have prevented the accident if that factor had not occurred. Other accident causes often involve equipment failures, human errors, unforeseen chemical reactions or other hazards. The agency does not issue fines or citations, but does make recommendations to plants, regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industry organizations, and labor groups. Congress designed the CSB to be non-regulatory and independent of other agencies so that its investigations might, where appropriate, review the effectiveness of regulations and regulatory enforcement.

Relevant Links

Topic Tools

Share this Topic

Contribute to Definition

We welcome updates to this Integripedia definition from the Inspectioneering community. Click the link below to submit any recommended changes for Inspectioneering's team of editors to review.

Contribute to Definition
Articles about Chemical Safety Board (CSB)
September/October 2020 Inspectioneering Journal

Implementing RBI as part of a Mechanical Integrity system at different sites is not a simple copy and paste project. Each case has its own characteristics and challenges. This article describes implementation in two vastly different facilities.

Blog

This is my third of three posts on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on requests and discussions on the issue.

Authors: Greg Alvarado
May/June 2012 Inspectioneering Journal

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today deployed a four- person investigation team to El Dorado, Arkansas to determine the cause of an explosion and fire that severely burned and killed three workers.

November/December 2011 Inspectioneering Journal

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released its final report on a series of three accidents that occurred over a 33-hour period on January 22 and 23, 2010, at the DuPont Corporation's Belle, West Virginia, chemical manufacturing plant -...

January/February 2011 Inspectioneering Journal

Washington DC, January 27, 2011 - A U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) case study released today on the 2008 heat exchanger rupture and ammonia release at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Houston, Texas, identifies gaps in facility emergency...

Partner Content

AET is a powerful, non-intrusive inspection technique to verify the structural integrity of pressure vessels, spheres, high-temperature reactors and piping, coke drums, above-ground storage tanks, cryogenic storage tanks, and more.

July/August 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

In a report issued May 27, 2009 for an investigation into the November 2008 fertilizer tank collapse at Allied Terminals in Chesapeake, VA, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recommended that the Commonwealth of Virginia regulate or authorize...

May/June 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

Washington, DC, May 19, 2010 - The practice of using flammable natural gas to clean power plant piping, which led to the fatal explosion at Connecticut-based Kleen Energy on February 7, has been commonly used across the gas-fired power generating...

May/June 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

Washington, DC, June 7, 2010 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today released a 14-minute safety video warning of the hazards of welding and other hot work activities in and around storage tanks containing flammable materials.

January/February 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

Washington, DC, January 25, 2010 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today voted to initiate an investigation of recent accidents at the DuPont chemical complex in Belle, West Virginia, following a release of highly toxic phosgene on Saturday...

January/February 2010 Inspectioneering Journal

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued urgent safety recommendations calling on CITGO to immediately improve its emergency water mitigation system in the event of another release of potentially deadly hydrogen fluoride (HF) vapor, as occurred...

Partner Content

Pinnacle's data-driven reliability framework ensures the right data is fueling the right intelligence, helping you make confident, strategic decisions.

September/October 2008 Inspectioneering Journal

Washington, DC, September 18, 2008 - A fire and series of explosions at the Barton Solvents Des Moines, Iowa, chemical distribution facility on October 29, 2007, was caused by a static electrical spark resulting from inadequate electrical bonding...

September/October 2008 Inspectioneering Journal

Washington, DC, August 20, 2008 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced today that it is proceeding with an investigation of the causes of a recent accident at the Goodyear rubber manufacturing facility in southeast Houston, in which one...

July/August 2008 Inspectioneering Journal

The final report calls on the American Petroleum Institute to develop improved practices for refinery freeze protection, fireproofing, isolation valves, and fire protection systems.

March/April 2007 Inspectioneering Journal

Sunray,Texas, March 9, 2007 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board today announced it is conducting a full investigation of the propane fire that occurred February 16 at the Valero McKee Refinery here, seriously burning three workers and forcing the...

    Videos related to Chemical Safety Board (CSB)
      News related to Chemical Safety Board (CSB)

        Inspectioneering Journal

        Explore over 20 years of articles written by our team of subject matter experts.

        Company Directory

        Find relevant products, services, and technologies.

        Training Solutions

        Improve your skills in key mechanical integrity subjects.

        Case Studies

        Learn from the experience of others in the industry.

        Integripedia

        Inspectioneering's index of mechanical integrity topics – built by you.

        Industry News

        Stay up-to-date with the latest inspection and asset integrity management news.

        Blog

        Read short articles and insights authored by industry experts.

        Expert Interviews

        Inspectioneering's archive of interviews with industry subject matter experts.

        Event Calendar

        Find upcoming conferences, training sessions, online events, and more.

        Downloads

        Downloadable eBooks, Asset Intelligence Reports, checklists, white papers, and more.

        Videos & Webinars

        Watch educational and informative videos directly related to your profession.

        Acronyms

        Commonly used asset integrity management and inspection acronyms.