Engineers Rally to Protect the Chemical Safety Board

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) was created by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments after a wave of catastrophic chemical accidents in the 1980s. Those events exposed a glaring gap: no federal agency was dedicated to uncovering root causes and preventing future disasters.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had regulatory authority, but neither was built for independent, lessons-learned investigations. The CSB was established to fill that void, modeled in part on the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

CSB's Role: What It Is, What It Isn't
The CSB investigates incidents such as refinery explosions, industrial fires, and toxic chemical releases. Its teams conduct site visits, analyze equipment and procedures, interview witnesses, and publish detailed reports. In addition to final reports, the CSB issues real-time safety alerts and interim statements when urgent hazards are identified, ensuring critical lessons reach industry and regulators without delay. The agency also produces animations and video case studies that translate technical findings into accessible guidance, helping engineers, safety professionals, and the public understand what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening again.

What the CSB does not do is enforce compliance or issue fines. It has no regulatory authority. Its influence comes from the credibility of its investigations and the strength of its recommendations, which OSHA, EPA, state regulators, and industry often adopt to improve safety practices. The CSB's role is also limited by jurisdiction. It investigates chemical accidents involving the accidental release of hazardous substances, but it does not handle transportation disasters (NTSB), workplace injuries unrelated to chemical releases (OSHA), environmental contamination outside of discrete accidents (EPA), or intentional acts like terrorism (law enforcement). When the CSB is not involved in a particular event, it is usually because that incident falls outside its legal authority.

Lessons Learned, Lives Protected
For professional engineers, the CSB functions as an independent record keeper of the nation's most serious chemical incidents. Each investigation preserves the technical and organizational lessons from a disaster that might otherwise fade into fragmented reports or be lost in litigation. The board's findings help engineers recognize systemic risks, strengthen design standards, and improve operational practices.

CSB reports and case studies have influenced changes in codes, industry guidelines, and engineering education. They provide practical insights that support safer plant design, more effective risk management, and better emergency preparedness. Without the CSB, the profession would lose a central source of trusted analysis that not only documents failures but translates them into knowledge engineers can apply to prevent the next catastrophe.

CSB's Future Hinges on Reliable Support
From its inception, the CSB has operated with one of the smallest budgets of any independent federal agency. Its resources have often lagged far behind the scale of its mission, leaving it with a lean staff and long investigation backlogs. At several points, presidential budget proposals have even called for eliminating the agency altogether, arguing that its functions could be absorbed elsewhere. That threat became immediate this year when the White House's FY 2026 budget request proposed no operating funds for the CSB, allocating only limited resources to begin shutting the agency down.

Congress has taken a different view. In this year's appropriations process, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced $8.2 million for the CSB, far below the agency's needs but still enough to keep its doors open. The Senate, has signaled support for maintaining funding closer to the agency's FY 2025 level, though the exact figure remains under negotiation. To prevent an immediate shutdown, lawmakers are debating a continuing resolution that would extend government funding at FY 2025 levels through November 21, 2025. As of mid-September, that measure had not yet been enacted, leaving the CSB's near-term future dependent on final congressional action.

The stark difference between the administration's request and the two chambers of Congress underscores the CSB's ongoing vulnerability. The result of this year's budget process will determine not just the agency's funding level, but whether it remains a functioning, independent investigator of chemical disasters.

Engineers Make Their Voices Heard
Professional engineers across the country have pressed Congress to protect and fund the Chemical Safety Board. Nearly 700 messages have already been sent by NSPE members to lawmakers, underscoring the importance of maintaining an independent agency that preserves critical safety lessons.

The Georgia Society of Professional Engineers (GSPE) amplified that effort by taking the message directly to the public and boosting outreach within the state. In addition to promoting NSPE's grassroots alert through its own channels, the society submitted letters to the editor to more than 30 newspapers, explaining the CSB's role in investigating chemical accidents and highlighting why its work matters to both industry and communities. GSPE leaders also spoke directly with CSB officials, reinforcing the importance of sustained funding and ensuring the board heard from engineers on the ground. One of the society's letters was published in the Tifton Gazette, a community paper with about 5,000 in print circulation and additional online reach that serves rural south Georgia, a region where chemical safety issues are especially relevant and where local voices carry weight with lawmakers.

Placing the CSB's mission in front of local readers allowed GSPE to reinforce the case for funding while also inviting citizens to take part in NSPE's grassroots campaign. This outreach extended engineers' advocacy beyond professional circles and into communities most directly affected by chemical safety decisions, demonstrating how local engagement can strengthen national efforts.

Keeping the Focus on Safety
The future of the CSB remains uncertain as Congress works through this year's appropriations. What is clear is that the agency's work continues to provide engineers and policymakers with essential lessons that protect lives, strengthen infrastructure, and prevent disasters from recurring.

Professional engineers have played a visible role in making the case for full funding, both through direct outreach to lawmakers and through state society efforts that extend the message into local communities. That advocacy underscores a central truth-the CSB represents far more than a budget figure. Its work preserves the lessons of past tragedies and transforms them into knowledge that helps engineers keep the public safe.

Join hundreds of professional engineers and other concerned stakeholders who have already spoken out. https://nspe.quorum.us/campaign/CSB/" class="ext" target="_blank">Send your message today through NSPE's Advocacy Center today .