The cause of a massive explosion at a military munitions plant in Tennessee, US, on 10 October, remains unknown. The blast completely levelled the Accurate Energetic Systems facility, killing 16 people and leaving no survivors.
Officials from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other government agencies are investigating the fatal incident. However, there is concern about the absence of the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) on the scene, as well as at several recent incidents at industrial facilities across the country, as the agency is in the process of being shut down.
On 12 October, Tennessee governor Bill Lee said the investigation is expected to ‘last for months,’ adding that his helicopter tour revealed there is virtually nothing left of the facility. The blast was felt 20–30 miles away, Lee added.
Accurate Energetic Systems received ‘serious’ citations from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development in 2019 related to residue of the explosive powder cyclonite (cyclotrimethylene trinitramine, or RDX) in areas where employees were allowed to eat and drink. The agency said cyclonite ‘could result in central nervous system impairment,’ and concluded that the company did not adequately train employees on how to protect themselves from exposure to hazardous chemicals, including the use of personal protective equipment and appropriate work practices.
Also in 2019, two employees had seizures on site, and a third experienced a seizure at home the same morning. All three were potentially exposed while drying and screening powdered cyclonite in the ‘hot house’, according to an agency report.
Calls for CSB to be restored
The CSB, which is an independent and nonregulatory federal agency that investigates the root causes of major chemical incidents in the US, is in the process of being shut down. The Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 calls for defunding and closing the CSB by the end of the year, arguing that it duplicates capabilities at other agencies. The agency’s emergency fund was only to be used to cover costs associated with closing the agency.
Elsewhere in the US, a large fire erupted earlier this month at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo, California. Local congressman Mark DeSaul noted on 10 October that this was the second refinery explosion in California this year, and the latest in a string of almost a dozen similar safety incidents at refineries across the state over the past decade. He called for the CSB to be ‘completely restored and strengthened’ so that when safety incidents occur it can get answers, hold those responsible to account, and prevent future incidents.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a US nonprofit science advocacy organisation, agrees. In a 10 October thread on the social media platform BlueSky, the organisation pointed to several recent chemical incidents different states. The organisation stressed that the CSB is the only independent US federal agency that investigates chemical disasters and makes recommendations to prevent them from happening again. ‘This week’s events exemplify why we need the CSB,’ UCS continued. ‘Impacted communities and workers, government agencies, and facility operators […] need the CSB to deploy their response teams to investigate these deadly and harmful explosions.’
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