The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; Washington, D.C.; www.csb.gov) is a federal agency that is charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The Board was created to operate independently of other agencies and its principal role, as described on its website, is “to investigate accidents to determine the conditions and circumstances which led up to the event and to identify the cause or causes so that similar events might be prevented.”
The CSB’s investigative reports and videos, which are freely available on its website, are informative and professionally done. It was concerning to learn that the recent U.S. Presidential budget proposal does not include any funding for the CSB in 2018. The potential loss of important lessons learned from actual accidents in the chemical process industries (CPI), some of which have very unfortunately been fatal, seems like a big price to pay for an agency whose budget is around $12 million/yr — a small number in the big scheme of the overall budget.
The CPI’s commitment to safety
Safety is a core concern of those who work in the CPI. Much effort goes into planning for safety — through hazard review processes, efforts to create intrinsically safe processes and much more. And CPI companies have nurtured a safety-conscious culture amongst their employees through investments in training, safety equipment, safety inspections, rewards for safe practices and more. I experienced this first-hand in the years I worked in the CPI. Member companies of the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), for example, voluntarily agree to participate in the Responsible Care Program as a condition of membership.
Members commit to follow the guiding principles of the Responsible Care Initiative. These principles are outlined on the ACC’s website, and include statements such as “to design and operate facilities in a safe, secure and environmentally sound manner.”
Process safety management
Today, in addition to the corporate environment, the importance of process safety is recognized in numerous programs that are helping to make process safety management a mainstream topic. One such program is the Mary Kay O’Conner Process Safety Center at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (College Station, Tex.; psc.tamu.edu). The Center was established in 1995 in memory of its namesake, a chemical engineer who died in an explosion in 1989. The Center, which is directed by Dr. Sam Mannan, describes its mission as follows: “to promote safety as second nature in industry around the world with goals to prevent future incidents.”
Safety discussions and learning can also be found in conferences, such as the well-attended annual Global Congress on Process Safety presented by the Center for Chemical Process Safety and the AIChE Safety & Health Division.
Still, with all of the efforts put forth toward safe practices, sometimes things go wrong, and accidents — sometimes disasters — occur. At those times, having an independent agency that can effectively investigate what went wrong and report it to the rest of the community sounds like a very worthwhile investment. I hope a way is found to keep the CSB afloat.■
Dorothy Lozowski, Editorial Director
Featured Conference
November 9-11, 2026Irving Convention Center | Dallas, TX
Explore this topic and more — live at Clean Americas. Join environmental, health, safety, and emergency response professionals tackling the industry's most urgent hazards. View Conference Program →
When a major incident strikes, the people stepping into Incident Command aren't always the ones who trained for it. Engineers, operators, trades supervisors, and compliance specialists may suddenly find themselves filling Command and General Staff roles — not because they volunteered, but because the situation demands it. Panelists will share practical strategies for leading without positional authority, tools and frameworks that help personnel rapidly orient to ICS roles, and approaches for closing the gap between day-to-day job functions and emergency command readiness before the next incident makes it urgent.
Speaking
Scott Andrews (Trans Mountain Canada Inc., Manager Emergency Management)
Kelly Codlin , MSPH, CIH (Marathon Petroleum Company, Emergency Preparedness Director)
Nick Hickson (Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), Hazmat Training Manager)
Josh Dubach MSc, CEM (Onterris, Senior Response Management Consultant)
This session will examine produced water as the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry and one of its most pressing emerging challenges. It will address the growing volumes of produced water, the increasing regulatory and public scrutiny of constituents such as PFAS, salts, and Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), and the operational implications for management, treatment, reuse, and disposal. The discussion will also explore how operators, regulators, and communities are redefining approaches to produced water management in response to environmental, technical, and stakeholder pressures.
Speaking
Steve Pepper, Ph.D., (Onterris, Director of Response Management)
Charles Maguire (Railroad Commission of Texas, Advisor, Oil and Gas Division)
Prof. Shane Walker Ph.D. (Texas Produced Water Consortium, Director)
Ray Cheatham (Onterris, Energy Sector Leader)
This session will present a detailed case study of a large-scale lithium-ion battery fire response that extended over 12 months. Attendees will explore the hazards associated with thermal runaway events, the operational challenges of suppressing lithium battery fires, and the response strategies that proved effective in this prolonged incident. The
Drawing on insights from U.S. EPA Region 9 wildfire response efforts, the session will also highlight tactics such as hazard characterization, air monitoring and evaluation, and household hazardous waste collection and disposal. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of the complexities involved in large-scale battery fire incidents and the critical factors to consider when planning and executing an effective response.
Speaking
Robert W. May PG (Clean Harbors, Senior Vice President, Branch Services and Sales)
Crosley Welch (Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State On-Scene Coordinator)
Samuel Cheek , CSP, RRPT (U.S. EPA, Region 6, Federal On-Scene Coordinator)
Christopher Myers (U.S. EPA, Region 9, Federal On-Scene Coordinator)
This session introduces use of remote sensing technologies to detect, characterize and monitor spills across marine and coastal environments. Discussion will highlight how tools can integrate into modern spill response workflows to improve safety and support data-driven decision making.
Speaking
James Hanzalik (Clean Gulf Associates, Vice-President)
Gordon Staples (MDA Space Ltd., Senior Radar Applications Scientist)
Grant Coolbaugh (Applied Research Associates / Ohmsett, Mechanical Engineer)
Speaking
Allyson Purcell MEP, CEM (ConocoPhillips, CMER Director)
Michael Delio (Maxum Petroleum, EHS & SECURITY MGR)
This session provides a practical, ground‑level introduction to the essential steps required after a battery undergoes a thermal event. We’ll break down how to assess site conditions, stabilize and prepare damaged cells or packs, select appropriate containment and packaging methods, and navigate the regulatory landscape that governs transport and disposal. The lecture emphasizes real‑world decision‑making, safety considerations, and compliance requirements, giving participants a clear framework they can apply immediately in field operations or emergency response planning.
Speaking
Mark Steadman (The Battery Network, Program Manager)
Environment, Health, Safety & Security
Investing in safety
| By Dorothy Lozowski
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB; Washington, D.C.; www.csb.gov) is a federal agency that is charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The Board was created to operate independently of other agencies and its principal role, as described on its website, is “to investigate accidents to determine the conditions and circumstances which led up to the event and to identify the cause or causes so that similar events might be prevented.”
The CSB’s investigative reports and videos, which are freely available on its website, are informative and professionally done. It was concerning to learn that the recent U.S. Presidential budget proposal does not include any funding for the CSB in 2018. The potential loss of important lessons learned from actual accidents in the chemical process industries (CPI), some of which have very unfortunately been fatal, seems like a big price to pay for an agency whose budget is around $12 million/yr — a small number in the big scheme of the overall budget.
The CPI’s commitment to safety
Safety is a core concern of those who work in the CPI. Much effort goes into planning for safety — through hazard review processes, efforts to create intrinsically safe processes and much more. And CPI companies have nurtured a safety-conscious culture amongst their employees through investments in training, safety equipment, safety inspections, rewards for safe practices and more. I experienced this first-hand in the years I worked in the CPI. Member companies of the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com), for example, voluntarily agree to participate in the Responsible Care Program as a condition of membership.
Members commit to follow the guiding principles of the Responsible Care Initiative. These principles are outlined on the ACC’s website, and include statements such as “to design and operate facilities in a safe, secure and environmentally sound manner.”
Process safety management
Today, in addition to the corporate environment, the importance of process safety is recognized in numerous programs that are helping to make process safety management a mainstream topic. One such program is the Mary Kay O’Conner Process Safety Center at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (College Station, Tex.; psc.tamu.edu). The Center was established in 1995 in memory of its namesake, a chemical engineer who died in an explosion in 1989. The Center, which is directed by Dr. Sam Mannan, describes its mission as follows: “to promote safety as second nature in industry around the world with goals to prevent future incidents.”
Safety discussions and learning can also be found in conferences, such as the well-attended annual Global Congress on Process Safety presented by the Center for Chemical Process Safety and the AIChE Safety & Health Division.
Still, with all of the efforts put forth toward safe practices, sometimes things go wrong, and accidents — sometimes disasters — occur. At those times, having an independent agency that can effectively investigate what went wrong and report it to the rest of the community sounds like a very worthwhile investment. I hope a way is found to keep the CSB afloat.■
Dorothy Lozowski, Editorial Director
Featured Conference
When a major incident strikes, the people stepping into Incident Command aren't always the ones who trained for it. Engineers, operators, trades supervisors, and compliance specialists may suddenly find themselves filling Command and General Staff roles — not because they volunteered, but because the situation demands it. Panelists will share practical strategies for leading without positional authority, tools and frameworks that help personnel rapidly orient to ICS roles, and approaches for closing the gap between day-to-day job functions and emergency command readiness before the next incident makes it urgent.
This session will examine produced water as the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry and one of its most pressing emerging challenges. It will address the growing volumes of produced water, the increasing regulatory and public scrutiny of constituents such as PFAS, salts, and Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), and the operational implications for management, treatment, reuse, and disposal. The discussion will also explore how operators, regulators, and communities are redefining approaches to produced water management in response to environmental, technical, and stakeholder pressures.
This session will present a detailed case study of a large-scale lithium-ion battery fire response that extended over 12 months. Attendees will explore the hazards associated with thermal runaway events, the operational challenges of suppressing lithium battery fires, and the response strategies that proved effective in this prolonged incident. The
Drawing on insights from U.S. EPA Region 9 wildfire response efforts, the session will also highlight tactics such as hazard characterization, air monitoring and evaluation, and household hazardous waste collection and disposal. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of the complexities involved in large-scale battery fire incidents and the critical factors to consider when planning and executing an effective response.
This session introduces use of remote sensing technologies to detect, characterize and monitor spills across marine and coastal environments. Discussion will highlight how tools can integrate into modern spill response workflows to improve safety and support data-driven decision making.
This session provides a practical, ground‑level introduction to the essential steps required after a battery undergoes a thermal event. We’ll break down how to assess site conditions, stabilize and prepare damaged cells or packs, select appropriate containment and packaging methods, and navigate the regulatory landscape that governs transport and disposal. The lecture emphasizes real‑world decision‑making, safety considerations, and compliance requirements, giving participants a clear framework they can apply immediately in field operations or emergency response planning.