US plans to close Chemical Safety Board by October

The Trump administration has proposed to shut down the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents and developing recommendations to prevent their recurrence. The government wants the agency’s $14 million (£10 million) budget should be withdrawn by 30 September, before the start of the next fiscal year.

The CSB should only have access to funds needed to ‘carry out the closure of the Board,’ the White House said. The administration claims in the CSB’s budget request that the agency ‘duplicates substantial capabilities’ in the US Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) to investigate chemical-related mishaps. It also says the agency generates ‘unprompted studies of the chemical industry and recommends policies that they have no authority to create or enforce,’ suggesting that this function should reside within agencies that have authority to issue regulations.

Shutting the CSB would be ‘part of the administration’s plans to move the nation towards fiscal responsibility and to redefine the proper role of the federal government,’ the administration claimed.

During his first term, Trump repeatedly tried to cancel the agency’s funding, but Congress intervened to maintain or increase its budget. This time around, both chambers of Congress are controlled by Republicans, and the president has taken greater control of independent agencies.

Opposition voiced

Jordan Barab, who served as a deputy assistant secretary of Osha from 2009 to 2017, before which he worked on workplace safety for the CSB and as a labour policy advisor for health and safety on Capitol Hill, reacted strongly to the news. ‘Trump wants to shut down the Chemical Safety Board which has a unique role investigating chemical plant incidents,’ he wrote on the social media platform Bluesky. ‘The result: more chemical releases, worker deaths and community pollution. All to save $14 million.’

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier from California, a senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee that has jurisdiction over occupational and mine safety, went further. He called the move ‘unconscionable’ and vowed to ‘do everything possible in Congress to fight this dangerous executive overreach and protect the Chemical Safety Board.’

‘Having spent my career fighting to regulate nearby refineries, I know the vital role the CSB plays in probing the root causes of chemical incidents and in issuing recommendations that have helped keep workers and communities safer,’ DeSaulnier continued.

The chemical industry also expressed concern. ‘The reports and recommendations that the CSB produces have served as a valuable resource for industry stakeholders,’ stated the American Chemistry Council trade association. ‘We value the work of the CSB and want to see it continue, and we will engage with the White House and Congress, so they understand we support the CSB as the budget works its way through the approval process.’

The CSB has recently concluded two investigations – into a fatal explosion at a molten salt nitriding plant in Tennessee in 2024, and a series of hydrogen fluoride leaks at a Honeywell plant in Louisiana. The Board found that all these incidents were preventable, and identified various safety and policy failings at the sites involved.