Safety board calls for research into process safety

The Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is asking the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) to address chemical process safety and release prevention in its revamped research agenda. CSB is proposing research into several broad areas, including the effectiveness of chemical emergency preparedness programs and the safety implications of having a large contractor workforce in the chemical industry. The board also wants NIOSH to examine ways to evaluate a company's safety culture, methods to reach small and medium businesses with preventive lessons, and how to improve the data available to describe and measure accidental chemical releases. In remarks prepared for a March 6 town hall meeting in Piqua, Ohio, CSB Director of Recommendations Manuel Gomez said the safety board is providing input on the NIOSH research plan to emphasize "the critical need for additional research on chemical process safety." Pointing to the 2003 nitric oxide explosion in nearby Miami Township, Ohio, that injured one worker and damaged several homes in a neighboring subdivision, Gomez said there are "still many lessons to be learned in areas such as emergency preparedness and response." NIOSH, he said, is "uniquely qualified to stimulate and fund valuable research on these sorts of accidents and their prevention."