Former U.S. OSHA Official, Safety Advocates Voice Concern Over CSB Shutdown

An explosion just over a year ago at the Techniques Surfaces USA Liquid Nitriding facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., burned one worker, caused multiple fires, and over $1 million in property damage. The worker, who suffered severe chemical and thermal burns on over 95% of his body, later died at the hospital.

According to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's (CSB) final report on this incident (released June 3, 2025), the explosion occurred during a liquid nitriding process on May 30, 2024. The incident was caused after a plugged roller containing water was placed into a molten salt bath at approximately 800°F (427°C). The water inside the roller rapidly heated and boiled, creating pressure that led the roller to fail and release steam into the salt, causing an eruption.

This report is one of several inquiries the CSB conducts each year to investigate serious chemical incidents and examine their causes to prevent future occurrences. But the CSB is likely to shut down due to proposed White House budget cuts, something that health and safety advocates like Jordan Barab strongly oppose.

“The Chemical Safety Board provides a unique function in ensuring the safety of chemical plants throughout the United States, and it will be a major loss to chemical safety around the country if the CSB is shut down because they deliver a service that no other government agency provides,” Barab, who is a former deputy assistant secretary at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and a former CSB recommendations manager, told 3E.

CSB on the Chopping Block?

President Donald Trump's administration has quietly proposed shutting down the CSB, an independent federal agency that has been dedicated to uncovering the causes of large-scale chemical accidents since 1998. The rationale for eliminating the agency includes two aims: to align with the administration's broader plan to move the nation toward what it claims is “fiscal responsibility” and the idea that the CSB's duties could be handled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and OSHA. The proposal also claims that the CSB generates recommendations that it has no authority to enforce, suggesting this function should operate within agencies that possess existing regulatory power.

However, Barab challenges this justification, saying the CSB's role is unique because it investigates the “deeper root causes” of industrial accidents, such as worker fatigue and corporate budget cuts issues, which he believes fall outside the scope of the EPA and OSHA's regulatory enforcement.

This is not the first time a Trump administration has attempted to eliminate the CSB, with similar proposals being made during his first term. If the administration's efforts are successful, funding for the CSB would be permanently canceled by September 30, 2026, according to the White House fiscal year 2026 budget. The proposed plans also call for completely redirecting the CSB's emergency fund of $844,000 toward closure costs.

While Congress has the final say on the budget and the agency's future, the process of eliminating the CSB is slated to begin this year.

Reactions from Chemical Safety Advocates

Critics of the administration's proposal, including former CSB officials and some chemical safety advocates, argue that shutting down the CSB would have negative consequences for chemical safety, potentially leading to more accidents and deaths, and weakening federal oversight. They also say the CSB operates with a modest annual budget (around $12-$14 million), which is small compared to the vast sums involved in chemical disasters and the overall cost of federal regulations.

Paul Orum, an independent expert with more than 25 years of experience in chemical safety advocacy work, said if the CSB prevents even one major catastrophic chemical incident, the money saved in terms of lives, property, environmental protection, and litigation costs can far outweigh its operational budget.

“The CSB's $14 million budget is tiny by comparison; it's a very good investment,” Orum told 3E, explaining that the incidents that the CSB investigates can cost consumers billions.

Donald Holmstrom, a former director of the CSB, called the agency's potential elimination a “tremendous loss,” highlighting the agency's history and its work in protecting workers and communities, particularly those disproportionately affected by chemical accidents. The CSB has a history of making impactful safety recommendations that lead to changes in industry standards and practices, he said.

“There's been influential investigations by the CSB that have made some significant changes within the area of process safety management, which is the primary approach that both industry and government regulations take towards managing major chemical hazards at facilities like chemical plants and oil refineries,” Holmstrom told 3E.

Holmstrom added that the CSB has played a crucial role in influencing refinery regulations in both Washington and California, primarily through major changes to how oil refineries are regulated for health, safety, and environmental impacts.

“Both states have adopted much more rigorous provisions that have gone beyond the federal EPA or federal OSHA when it comes to regulating oil refineries,” Holmstrom said. “That was a significant achievement.”

Dr. Darius Sivin, an occupational and environmental health professional who works for the United Auto Workers (UAW), echoed similar sentiments as Holmstrom regarding the CSB's recommendations.

“Among many other improved laws and regulations, the CSB has contributed to New York City's adoption of a new fire code that better addresses chemical risks … [And] revised national codes [NFPA 56] that prohibit use of flammable gases to clean piping,” Sivin told 3E.