The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) marked the 20th anniversary of the fatal explosions and fires at BP America Texas City Refinery in Texas City, TX, that occurred on March 23, 2005. The tragic incident resulted in the deaths of 15 people and injuries to 180 others.
 
To remember this deadly event, the CSB released a new report entitled “The 20th Anniversary of the 2005 Fatal BP America Refinery Explosion in Texas City, TX - Lessons Learned and Improvements Implemented by Industry.” This new report, called an “investigation digest,” summarizes the recommendations made by the CSB as a result of its investigation of the BP Texas City disaster and some of the steps that have been taken by the chemical industry since 2005 to improve safety at refineries and other chemical facilities.
 
The CSB’s final report on the BP Texas City incident, released in 2007, found organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation, as well as gaps in industry standards and practices that allowed the incident to occur. As a result of the agency’s investigation, the CSB issued 26 safety recommendations to nine entities. Over the past two decades, all but one of those recommendations have been successfully closed. Their implementation has led to important improvements in process safety management at chemical and petrochemical facilities across the country. The only recommendation that has not yet been implemented calls for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to revise its Process Safety Management (PSM) regulation to require that a management of change (MOC) review be conducted for organizational changes that may impact process safety.

The CSB’s investigation digest highlights several of the changes made by the chemical industry in response to the CSB’s recommendations, including:

• the development of guidance and improved practices relative to the placement of occupied work-site trailers and other temporary structures;
• safer alternatives to atmospheric discharge;
• standards for process safety indicators;
• standards for preventing worker fatigue; and
• an increased focus on improving organizational culture and process safety management at refineries and chemical facilities.

CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said, “The BP Texas City disaster is one of the worst industrial accidents in recent U.S. history.  As a result of the CSB’s investigation of this terrible incident and the more than two dozen safety recommendations that the CSB made, a number of important steps have been taken to improve practices at refineries and other chemical facilities.  But more still needs to be done to protect workers and communities.   The CSB is committed to ensuring that a catastrophe like this never happens again.”

The CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result, or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances.

The agency’s core public safety activities include conducting incident investigations; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.

The agency's board members are appointed by the President subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.