USA – US Chemical Safety Board Faces Closure by Year’s End

The Trump administration has announced plans to shut down the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (US CSB) by the end of the year — a move that has alarmed safety experts, lawmakers, and industry leaders who warn it could weaken industrial safety and put lives at risk.

Established in 1998, the CSB is an independent federal agency that investigates major chemical accidents, determines root causes, and issues recommendations to prevent similar incidents. Over its history, the CSB has deployed teams to more than 170 accident sites and released over 1,000 recommendations to improve industrial safety. Its recent work includes investigations into a molten salt explosion that killed a worker in Tennessee and a series of hydrogen fluoride leaks in Louisiana that resulted in fatalities and severe injuries.

The administration’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year eliminates the CSB’s US$14 million in annual funding, arguing that its work duplicates efforts by other federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A statement on the CSB’s website explains that the agency “produces independent studies and recommendations but lacks the authority to implement or enforce them,” and that these responsibilities should fall to agencies with regulatory powers.

However, critics say shutting down the CSB would be short-sighted and costly. Lawmakers and industry experts have pointed out that the modest savings from defunding the agency would pale in comparison to the economic and human costs of a single major industrial disaster that might otherwise have been prevented.

In a letter urging President Trump to reconsider, 26 Democratic members of Congress wrote: “The CSB has long had bipartisan support because it saves taxpayers and communities far more than its small operating cost. Major chemical incidents can cause hundreds of millions in damages. Preventing just one disaster would more than pay for the CSB’s entire budget. With chemical accidents occurring nearly every two days in the US, we cannot afford to lose this vital agency.”

Jan Tucker, director of the IChemE Safety Centre, warned that without the CSB’s independent investigations, many root causes of industrial incidents could go undetected. “Opportunities to share lessons learned across industries would shrink significantly, increasing the risk of similar incidents elsewhere,” she said.

Sean O’Sullivan, chair of IChemE’s Safety and Loss Prevention Special Interest Group, praised the agency’s unique role: “The CSB’s reports are some of the clearest, most detailed, and most widely used resources for investigating chemical incidents anywhere in the world. Engineers across the globe have benefited from its findings for decades. Its unusual remit — as an investigator without regulatory power — has worked exceptionally well. Losing the CSB would be a huge setback for process safety, and its work cannot easily be replaced by the private sector or academia.”

Jordan Barab, former deputy assistant secretary of OSHA and a long-time safety advocate, took to social media to denounce the plan: “Trump wants to eliminate the Chemical Safety Board, which plays a critical role in investigating chemical plant incidents. The result: more spills, worker deaths, and community harm — all to save US$14 million and to benefit the chemical industry.”

Yet the chemicals industry itself has not endorsed the closure. The American Chemistry Council, the sector’s main trade group, said: “We value the CSB’s work and want to see it continue. We will engage with the White House and Congress to ensure they understand our support for the CSB as the budget process moves forward.”

For now, the fate of the CSB remains in the hands of lawmakers as they debate whether to retain funding for the agency or let it close its doors after more than two decades of service.