Safety Board Seeks Accident Data

The Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is proposing a regulation to require that accidental chemical releases be reported to CSB or to the federal National Response Center. Currently, CSB gets much of its earliest information on chemical accidents from media reports, but that information is often not timely or accurate enough for the agency to determine if it needs to take action. The board is seeking input for the proposed rule on what information should be reported, how quickly the data should be sent, and if the rule should require a comprehensive reporting of all accidents or be focused on getting data for the most serious incidents. A report last year by the Government Accountability Office recommended that CSB issue a reporting rule. The proposed rule will be printed soon in the Federal Register.