The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role,the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents,certain types of highway crashes,ship and marine accidents,pipeline incidents,bridge failures,and railroad accidents. The NTSB is also in charge of investigating cases of hazardous materials releases that occur during transportation. The agency is based in Washington,D.C. It has three regional offices,located in Anchorage,Alaska;Aurora,Colorado;and Federal Way,Washington. The agency also operated a national training center at its Ashburn facility.
Morganton is a city in and county seat of Burke County,North Carolina,United States. The population was 17,474 at the 2020 census. Morganton is approximately 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Charlotte and 57 miles (92 km) east of Asheville.
A chemical accident is the unintentional release of one or more hazardous chemicals,which could harm human health and the environment. Such events include fires,explosions,and release of toxic materials that may cause people illness,injury,or disability. Chemical accidents can be caused for example by natural disasters,human error,or deliberate acts for personal gain. Chemical accidents are generally understood to be industrial-scale ones,often with important offsite consequences. Unintended exposure to chemicals that occur at smaller work sites,as well as in private premises during everyday activities are usually not referred to as chemical accidents.
The Texas City refinery explosion occurred on March 23,2005,when a flammable hydrocarbon vapor cloud ignited and violently exploded at the isomerization process unit of the BP oil refinery in Texas City,Texas,killing 15 workers,injuring 180 others and severely damaging the refinery. All the fatalities were contractors working out of temporary buildings located close to the unit to support turnaround activities. Property loss was $200 million. When including settlements,costs of repairs,deferred production,and fines,the explosion is the world's costliest refinery accident.
An occupational hazard is a hazard experienced in the workplace. This encompasses many types of hazards,including chemical hazards,biological hazards (biohazards),psychosocial hazards,and physical hazards. In the United States,the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conduct workplace investigations and research addressing workplace health and safety hazards resulting in guidelines. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes enforceable standards to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. In the EU,a similar role is taken by EU-OSHA.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (USCSB),generally referred to as the Chemical Safety Board (CSB),is an independent U.S. federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washington,D.C.,the agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. The CSB conducts root cause investigations of chemical accidents at fixed industrial facilities.
The West Pharmaceutical Plant explosion was an industrial disaster that occurred on January 29,2003,at the West Pharmaceutical Plant in Kinston,North Carolina,United States. Six people were killed and thirty-six people were injured when a large explosion ripped through the facility. Two firefighters were injured in the subsequent blaze. The disaster occurred twelve years and 170 miles (270 km) from the 1991 Hamlet chicken processing plant fire,North Carolina's second-worst industrial disaster.
The T2 Laboratories explosion and fire occurred on December 19,2007,in Jacksonville,Florida,resulting in the deaths of four people and the injury of fourteen others. T2 Laboratories Inc. was a facility that specialized in the manufacture of specialty chemicals primarily for gasoline additives.
On 7 February 2008,fourteen people were killed and thirty-six injured during a dust explosion at a refinery owned by Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth,Georgia,United States. Dust explosions had been an issue of concern among U.S. authorities since three fatal accidents in 2003,with efforts made to improve safety and reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
The 2010 Connecticut power plant explosion occurred at the Kleen Energy Systems power station in Middletown,Connecticut,United States at 11:17 am EST on February 7,2010. The plant had been under construction from September 2007,and was scheduled to start supplying energy in June 2010. The initial blast killed five and injured at least fifty;one of the injured later died in hospital,bringing the total death toll to six.
Catherine Janet Kissee Sandoval is a former commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission. Sandoval is a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law. As of February 2023,she has served as a member of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. In 1984,she was the first Latina Rhodes scholar.
The Deepwater Horizon investigation included several investigations and commissions,among others reports by National Incident Commander Thad Allen,United States Coast Guard,National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling,Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,Regulation and Enforcement,National Academy of Engineering,National Research Council,Government Accountability Office,National Oil Spill Commission,and Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.
Rafael Moure-Eraso is a former chairman and chief executive of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
David Alan LaCerte was the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) in the administration of Governor Bobby Jindal. He had been the Interim Secretary from January 2013 to September 2013.
Geraldine Lee Richmond is an American chemist and physical chemist who is serving as the Under Secretary of Energy for Science in the US Department of Energy. Richmond was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate to her role on November 5,2021. In this position,she oversees the Office of Science,the Applied Energy offices,and 13 of the 17 Department of Energy national laboratories. Before this appointment,Richmond served as a Professor of Physical Chemistry and held the Presidential Chair in Science at the University of Oregon. Her research has focused on understanding the chemistry and physics of complex surfaces and interfaces,using laser-based experimental and theoretical computational methods. These understandings are most relevant to energy production,atmospheric chemistry and remediation of the environment. Throughout her career she has also worked to increase the number and success of women scientists in the U.S. and in many developing countries through the COACh program that she founded in 1999. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In recognition of her scientific achievements and contributions to women in science,she received the National Medal of Science from President Obama in 2013.
Shana M. Broussard is an American attorney who served as the chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for 2021. She has been a Democratic member of the FEC since December 15,2020.
Jennifer L. Esposito Homendy is an American government official,currently serving as the 15th chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) since August 2021. She served as member of the NTSB from 2018 to 2021. Homendy worked in legislative advocacy for the AFL–CIO and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters before joining the NTSB in 2018.
Cynthia Ann Telles is an American academic and psychologist who currently serves as the United States ambassador to Costa Rica. She is a clinical professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and serves on the executive committee of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is the founding director of the Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence.
Katherine Andrea Lemos is an American safety professional and the former chairperson and CEO of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
Stephen Alan Owens is an American attorney and politician. Originally from Memphis,Tennessee,he served as chief counsel and state director for U.S. Senator Al Gore before moving to the Phoenix,Arizona area during Gore's unsuccessful presidential run in 1988. He was a fundraiser for the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1992,and,from 1993 to 1995,was chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. He was the Democratic nominee for Arizona's 6th congressional district in 1996 and 1998,losing both times to incumbent J. D. Hayworth.
