July 17, 2025Environmental Health, Fenceline and Labor Organizations Call for Preservation of Chemical Safety Board
Press Release
Media Contact
Deidre Nelms; Communications Director; Coming Clean; dnelms@comingcleaninc.org, (802) 251-0203 ext. 711.
Today, Coming Clean, the Environmental Justice Health Alliance, and other members of the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters sent a letter urging members of Congress to oppose White House proposal to eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). The groups called for the preservation and sustained funding of the CSB.
The CSB is an independent nonregulatory federal agency that Congress created pursuant to federal law after deadly chemical disasters in Bhopal, India and Institute, West Virginia. It is the only federal agency charged with investigating the root causes of industrial chemical disasters; issuing reports to Congress, EPA, and OSHA; and making recommendations to prevent future disasters.
This year alone, there have already been over one hundred chemical incidents in the U.S., including a chlorine gas leak at the Olin chemical manufacturing plant in Freeport, TX that prompted school closures and shelter in place warnings to be issued across multiple neighboring cities.
“The CSB has a budget of only $14.4 million dollars, as of FY 2024. By contrast, the disasters it investigates and strives to prevent cost billions, and threaten public safety. Chemical disasters in the most recent five years evaluated by EPA cost over $2.3 billion, or roughly 160 times greater than the CSB budget,” reads the letter. “Although the Trump administration has proposed to de-fund the CSB, it is ultimately Congress that determines the agency’s budget and members of Congress who will be accountable to their constituents if this critical work is not continued. As such, we urge you to oppose the elimination of the CSB, ensure sustained funding of the agency at its current or an increased level, and stand up for safety protections for workers, first responders, and the 177 million people – including millions of schoolchildren – who are most in harm’s way from chemical disasters.”
Signatories to the letter also include BlueGreen Alliance, Center for Environmental Health, Earthjustice, New Jersey Work Environment Council, International Union, UAW, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and United Steelworkers.
Coming Clean is a nonprofit environmental health collaborative working to transform the chemical industry so it is no longer a source of harm, and to secure systemic changes that allow a safe chemical and clean energy economy to flourish. Our members are organizations and technical experts — including grassroots activists, community leaders, scientists, health professionals, business leaders, lawyers, and farmworker advocates — committed to principled collaboration to advance a nontoxic, sustainable, and just world for all.