This coverage was achieved through a partnership between GRIS and Verite NewsNon -profit news organization with the task of producing in -depth press in deprived societies in the New Orleans region.
On a summer night in 2023, explosion In one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Louisiana, I sent a column of fire in the sky. Followed by more explosions with poison gas rushing from damaged tanks at the Dow Chemical Factory, which led to the arrangement of a shelter for anyone half a mile from the facility, which extends over more than 830 acres near Batton Rouge.
For more than a year, the unknown government agency was investigating the accident. but American chemical safety investigation and risk investigation It is possible to close before completing its investigations into the Dow explosion and other accidents throughout the country. The administration of President Donald Trump quietly suggested the closure of the board of directors, an independent federal agency accused of revealing the causes of chemical accidents on a large scale.
Near the end of 1,224 pages Budget Document White House officials issued with Little Fanfare said on May 30 that the closure of the agency, known as CSB, will help “transfer the nation towards financial responsibility” as the Trump administration is working to “redefine the correct role of the federal government.” The annual budget of $ 14 million from CSB will be eliminated for the fiscal year 2026 and the $ 844,000 emergency fund will be allocated to the costs related to the closure. The closing of the agency is scheduled to start down this year, according to CSB Documents.
Former CSB officials and environmental groups said that the elimination of CSB will come at a cost on the safety of plant workers and neighboring societies, especially along the Gulf coast, where the largest part of the American petrochemical industry is concentrated.
“The closure of CSB will mean more incidents in chemical factories, more explosions and more deaths,” said Beth Rosenberg, a public health expert at the CSB Council from 2013 to 2014.
Ruisita Ozan, founder of the Foundation ShipEnvironmental Justice Group in Charles Lake. “We who have to support in place or evacuation whenever there is an explosion or release (chemical), and now there will be less supervision when these things happen.”
CSB did not respond to the comment.
The proposed closure of CSB follows many other moves by the Trump administration to reduce the levels of employment in the Environmental Protection Agency and reduce federal health and safety regulations.
CSB was founded in 1998, achieving the causes of petrochemical accidents and recommendations for plants, organizers and business groups. CSB does not impose fines or penalties, rather than relying on voluntary compliance or the enforcement of other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, to clarify safety improvements.
Of more than 100 investigations by CSB, Texas leads the country with 22 cases, followed by Louisiana with eight.
Wilma Super, an environmental scientist with Louisiana Environmental Work Network.
Along with the chemical explosion, the agency has four others Active investigations Accidents in Texas, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia. CSB investigations often take several months to complete it.
In an update to an investigation into the DOW explosion last year, CSB alluded to “many disturbing events” in the chemical complex between Paton Rouge and the city of Plaquueine – an area that forms part of the industrial passage known as “Cancer alley”. Among the goals of the investigation, there were at least two mechanical problems, multiple smaller explosions after the initial bombing, and the release of more than 30,000 pounds Ethylene oxideNon -color gas that the agency has noticed is a cancer -causing substance.
The last complete investigation of CSB was 2024 killers explosion In the hardening steel facility in Catanoja, Tennessee. CSB has identified many safety failures and at least three other serious accidents that involve similar risks in other facilities owned by the same company, Hef Groupe of France.
CSB investigations, which were issued early this month, “Hef”, found that information about these incidents and lessons learned from them have been shared and implemented at the organization level.
The interaction of the incidents chain at the Catanoja facility led to the “hot molten salt” eruption that killed a worker, according to the investigation.
On average, dangerous chemical accidents occur once every day in the United States, according to Come Clean, a non -profit organization for environmental health. Clean next documented 825 fires, leaks and other accidents related to chemicals between January 2021 and October 2023. The incidents have killed at least 43 people and raised orders and evacuated in nearly 200 society.
Trump called for the closure of CSB during his first term, but he settled to leave many leadership positions for the investigators and the agency is not packed. The agency’s slowdown led to the accumulation of 14 incomplete investigations by the time when Joe Biden took office in 2021.
According to the first Trump administration, investigations were hindered due to the lack of months of employees and conflicts between the council and the director appointed from Trump to the agency, according to a federal inspector a report.
In the new budget proposal, the Trump administration indicated that CSB duties can be dealt with by other agencies.
“CSB repeats great capabilities in the Environmental Protection and Occupational Health and Health Administration Agency to investigate incidents related to chemicals,” said CSB’s budget proposal. “This job must be inside the agencies that the authorities have to issue regulations …”
Jordan, former CSB Recommendation Director, said. This justification is a “lie”.
While OSHA and EPA are limited to assessing specific violations of their current standards and regulations, CSB can be seen much wider and “deep causes” of accidents, including workers’ fatigue, lowering corporate budget, and relaxing control.
Ozan said that even when other federal agencies seemed to ignore CSB recommendations, community groups and local governments can be cited when pressing improved safety standards.
She said: “It was a scientific evidence that we could all use to pressure the state or federal organizers to do something about pollution and safety in the places where we live,” she said. “This is just another tool and another resource that was transferred from us.”
