Chemical board proposes accidental release reporting rule

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board on Thursday proposed a rule modifying its accidental release reporting requirements and is seeking public comment on the proposed statute.

Although the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has been in existence more than 20 years, it has not had a rule outlining accidental release reporting requirements.

Between 2009 and 2019, the CSB identified 1,923 chemical accidents in its database that occurred, and each incident involved either a fatality or hospitalization.

Under the proposed rule, the owner or operator of a facility must submit accidental release reports to the Chemical Safety Board within four hours if the release results in “a fatality, serious injury or substantial property damages.” The facilities must provide CSB with contact information, time of the incident and location, description of the incident and its ramifications, the materials involved, the number of fatalities and/or serious injuries, estimated property damage, whether an evacuation order impacting the public was given and details if such an evacuation occurred.

The current threshold denoting “substantial property damages” under the proposed rule is $1 million, though the agency said it may revise that to a lower level based on public comments it receives during the proposed rulemaking period. 

The types of companies expected to impact the most by this rule change based on past accidental release reports include petroleum refineries, oil and gas operation support, crude petroleum and natural gas extraction and other chemical and allied products, according to the CSB.

The agency will also refrain from enforcing violations of the reporting provision for one year from the effective date of the rule unless there is a “a knowing failure to report.” Those who knowingly violate may be subject to administrative penalties as well as civic and/or criminal action.

Accidental release reports will be publicly available under the Freedom of Information Act.

Comments to the proposed rulemaking must be submitted to the CSB by Jan. 13, 2020. The agency is under court order to issue its rule by Feb. 5, 2020.