
Washington — The Chemical Safety Board is “very determined” to keep away from an investigation backlog comparable to the one it just lately cleared, board Chair Steve Owens stated throughout the company’s first public enterprise assembly of 2024.
Owens added that clearing the long-standing backlog of open investigations and incident experiences in December didn’t exhaust the company’s process record.
Board Member Sylvia Johnson pointed to CSB’s addition of 10 workers members, together with 4 chemical incident investigators.
“It’s an exciting time to be at the CSB,” Johnson stated. “As we grow and expand, we’re now in position to meet and execute the mission of this great agency.”
Two seats stay open on CSB’s five-member board. Owens didn’t deal with attainable additions to the board however confirmed that CSB goals to continue to grow its investigative workers.
During the general public remark portion of the assembly, Michael Boykin of the Louisiana Chemical Association advised the board that investigators’ experiences and suggestions “do not go unnoticed,” and that he references them throughout his conferences with security professionals and course of engineers.
Owens responded: “We’re glad to hear that our recommendations are taken seriously, and that people try to implement them even if they’re not necessarily directed specifically to them.”
Owens additionally stated that CSB is within the processes of evaluating and following up on a Dec. 6 report from the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General that recognized 4 prime administration challenges dealing with CSB in FY 2024:
- Operating successfully with out a full board
- Minimizing mission-critical workers vacancies and attrition charges
- Improving cybersecurity
- Promoting moral conduct
The subsequent public assembly is scheduled for April 27.