Chemical Plants are Calling for Better Safety Regulations

Several advocacy groups have called on the Obama administration to enforce new safety regulations for chemical plants. The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters issued its proclamation in response to nearly 80 deaths that have occurred between 2013 and 2015.

The group released a statement following an Environmental Protection Agency alert stating the agency, along with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, must introduce better technology standards to improve safety at chemical plants. The coalition further stated that the chemical industry can no longer police itself and that EPA regulations may take up to 18 months to go into effect. If the Obama administration does not act on its promise made in 2013, the next president could stop efforts to improve safety standards before implementation.

Chemical plants suffered several disasters since 2013, including the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, that killed 15 workers in a "preventable" accident. That explosion fatally injured 12 volunteer firefighters. Less than two months later, an explosion at a Williams Olefins facility in Louisiana killed one worker, injured 77 people and released more than 31,000 pounds of toxic chemicals into the environment. A chemical leak at a DuPont plant in Texas caused an explosion that killed four workers in November 2014.

Crises at chemical plants that involve human deaths happen even more regularly if statisticians take into account incidents in foreign countries such as Japan, China and Germany. Plus, the coalition group also reports on fires, incidents and accidents when no deaths occur and property becomes damaged.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigates all incidents at chemical plants when employees mishandle chemicals and anomalies happen. The agency issues regular alerts, compiles news stories and creates accident reports regarding chemical safety issues in America. This government department sits on the front line of an overhaul of safety regulations needed for the chemical industry, and the CSB must act quickly.

Safety protocols for the industry must move forward, especially as new technologies introduce more issues. Additive manufacturing with chemicals creates entirely new scenarios in which chemicals may mix together. The latest additive manufacturing process, an experimental technology from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, uses small amounts of molecules to custom make chemicals for customers. Regulators should imagine what may happen on a larger scale if chemical engineers use huge vats of chemicals to make substances using this new method. If the EPA fails to issue new safety standards, the federal government may get even further behind the times.

High-risk facilities such as chemical plants and oil rigs need tougher safety standards in the wake of prominent disasters such as the fertilizer plant explosion and the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Ironically, the EPA and OSHA could be too busy investigating disasters, and the agencies may not have enough free time to write and approve new safety standards.

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