Agency That Prevents Oil Spills and Factory Accidents Destroyed By GOP

Have you ever heard of the Chemical Safety Board (CSB)?  Chances are you haven't unless you work in certain industries.  How important can it be then?  Extremely, as it turns out.  It's among many similar government agencies being quietly destroyed by the Trump administration to the delight of Republicans.

The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, investigates accidents and makes recommendations.... the Chemical Safety Board’s work is a matter of life and death. Millions of people in America — mostly workers, but also members of the public — are at risk from fires, explosions, or chemical releases, and many of them probably don’t realize it.

Since 1998, it has looked into some of the nation’s biggest industrial disasters, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout, which killed 11 workers and dumped an estimated 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico; and the 2005 explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, that killed 15 workers and injured 180. The board’s work has led to changes in industry practices from Texas to Kansas and laws in states from Mississippi to Connecticut.

Since May 2, it has been operating with only one voting member out of a possible five — one vote short of a quorum.  Without a quorum, the board will not be able to release the final reports from any of its 13 pending investigations. It’s been effectively disabled.

This small federal agency focused on preventing industrial disasters is on life support and Trump wants it gone.   

CSB not only investigates accidents but also provides recommendations so that lesson are learned, mistakes are not repeated, and lives are saved.  At least 61 people have died in U.S. chemical plants since 2013.

The board’s undoing reflects a broader dysfunction at federal agencies under Trump’s watch. The president has repeatedly failed to appoint leaders at agencies he considers unnecessary, making it nearly impossible for some to operate.

No one has worked harder to weaken the board than Trump’s White House, which has tried to shut the board down four times.  The administration first announced its intention to defund the board in Trump’s budget proposal in 2017

The inspector general at the US Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the board, recently called the situation a matter of “elevated urgency.”

The situation creates “a very difficult challenge,” Rick Engler, whose term on the board ended in February, told the Center for Public Integrity. “We continue to have chemical disasters, and the [board’s] recommendations save lives.”

“The CSB’s findings are very influential,” Chris Jahn, president of the American Chemistry Council, a trade group that represents the chemical industry, said at a Senate hearing in January. He urged the Trump administration and the Senate to quickly fill the board’s four vacant seats.

Regulations Protect Us.

Regulations Protect Us.

Regulations Protect Us.

The Chemical Safety Board has a staff of 40 — including nine investigators — and a $12 million budget, forcing it to concentrate on the worst industrial disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

The need for more investigators is clear: The board’s database shows an annual average of 183 chemical accidents that killed, injured, or sickened someone over the past decade.

However, each year, investigators are only able to look into about five major accidents. Their findings and recommendations are then vetted by the board’s voting members, and, if approved, a final report is released publicly.

But corruption.....

It’s not unusual for industry groups and companies to reject the board’s findings and recommendations. The oil and gas industry — which has contributed about $2 million to Trump’s reelection campaign — has pushed back against a recommendation for new federal rules that would require oil rigs and refineries to meet stricter safety standards.

The chemical and oil industries also fought an EPA rule... that would have required companies to conduct independent audits of major chemical accidents — something the board recommended. The Trump EPA eliminated this provision, along with others, last year.

Source: https://www.vox.com/2020/7/28/21336481/chemical-safety-hazard-investigation-board