Mission
The CSB is not a regulatory agency like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Indeed, the Congress designed the CSB to be independent of those agencies so that its investigations might, where appropriate, review the effectiveness of regulations and regulatory enforcement.

The CSB determines the causes of accidents but does not issue fines or penalties. The immediate causes of accidents often involve equipment failures, human errors, unforeseen chemical reactions or other hazards. But the ultimate goal of the Board's investigations is to determine the root causes of accidents, which typically are deficiencies in safety management systems. CSB investigative staff include chemical and mechanical engineers, industrial safety experts, and other specialists drawn from the private and public sectors. Many investigators have years of chemical industry plant experience.

Even before chemical accident sites are safe enough to enter for inspection, investigators begin their work by conducting detailed interviews of witnesses such as plant employees, managers, and neighbors. Chemical samples and equipment obtained from accident sites are sent to independent laboratories for testing. Company safety records, inventories, and operating procedures are examined as investigators seek an understanding of the circumstances of the accident.

Over a course of several months, investigators sift through evidence, consult with Board members, review regulations and industry practices before drafting key findings, root causes and recommendations. During the process, investigators may consult with plant managers, workers, labor groups, and other government authorities. The process generally takes six months to a year to complete, at which time a draft report is submitted to the Board for consideration. Reports may be adopted through a written vote of the Board or in a formal public meeting.

In addition to investigations of specific accidents, the Board is authorized to conduct investigations of more general chemical accident hazards, whether or not an accident has already occurred. The Board's first hazard investigation was completed in 2002 and reviewed more than 150 serious accidents involving uncontrolled chemical reactions in industry. This investigation led to new recommendations to OSHA and EPA for regulatory changes.

Both accident investigations and hazard investigations lead to new safety recommendations, which are the Board's principal tool for achieving positive change. Recommendations are issued to government agencies, companies, trade associations, labor unions, and other groups. Implementation of each safety recommendation is tracked and monitored by CSB staff. When recommended actions have been completed satisfactorily, the recommendation may be closed by a vote of Board.

While some recommendations may be adopted immediately, others require extensive effort and advocacy to achieve implementation. Board members and staff work to promote safety actions based on CSB recommendations. In many cases the lessons from CSB investigations are not just relevant to the companies where the accidents have occurred but are broadly applicable. Many CSB recommendations are already being implemented in industry, leading to safer plants, workers, and communities.

History
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is authorized by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and became operational in January 1998. The Senate legislative history states: "The principal role of the new chemical safety board 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." Congress gave the CSB a unique statutory mission and provided in law that no other agency or executive branch official may direct the activities of the Board. Following the successful model of the National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of Transportation, Congress directed that the CSB's investigative function be completely independent of the rulemaking, inspection, and enforcement authorities of EPA and OSHA. Congress recognized that Board investigations would identify chemical hazards that were not addressed by those agencies. The legislative history states:

[T]he investigations conducted by agencies with dual responsibilities tend to focus on violations of existing rules as the cause of the accident almost to the exclusion of other contributing factors for which no enforcement or compliance actions can be taken. The purpose of an accident investigation (as authorized here) is to determine the cause or causes of an accident whether or not those causes were in violation of any current and enforceable requirement.

Although the Board was created to function independently, it also collaborates in important ways with EPA, OSHA, and other agencies. The Board has entered into a number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) that define the terms of collaboration. For example, in cases where several agencies are conducting investigations of a particular accident, the MOUs outline mechanisms for coordination in the field. The goal of the MOUs is to allow each agency to carry out its statutory mission efficiently and without unnecessary duplication of effort. In August 2002, the Board reached an important milestone with the appointment of a full-time Chairman and a new Board member, marking the first time when all five Board seats were filled. In 2003 the Board initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process, leading to the development of a new strategic plan covering the years 2004-2008. The plan continues the agency's strong commitment to high-quality scientific investigations, effective safety recommendations, and strong advocacy on behalf of those recommendations.