COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 29, 2008 – Chemical processing plants throughout the nation will likely be subjected to increased government regulation in the coming years as efforts are made to foster a reliability within the industry on par with that of the aviation and nuclear power industries, said John S. Bresland, chairman/ chief executive officer of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), at a Texas A&M-sponsored symposium held this week.
“Certainly, I think we’re going to see more oversight,” Bresland said. “Regardless of who wins the election, I think you are going to see a change in attitude, especially on regulation – more oversight from OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration], more oversight from Congress.”
Bresland’s comments came as part of a presentation on the CSB, which he delivered at a two-day symposium aimed at making the process industry a safer place. The event was sponsored by Texas A&M’s Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center, which is housed in the university’s Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
Bresland said issues of Congressional authorization remain a challenge to the CSB and that his organization is engaged in efforts to clarify certain issues that currently inhibit CSB operations.
“Just as one example, when we get to the scene of the accident, there are some issues around the appropriate retaining of the equipment that was involved,” Bresland noted. “We don’t have the authority to say, ‘Leave that there. It should not be touched.’”
Bresland was appointed by President George W. Bush as chairman and chief executive officer of the CSB in 2008 after previously serving as a CSB board member from 2002-2007. Before joining the board, Bresland was a staff consultant to the Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, working as a project manager on two committees and writing books on dust explosions and the management of reactive chemical hazards.
At the CSB, which became operational in 1998, Bresland leads an entity responsible for investigating the numerous chemical-related accidents that occur each year throughout the nation. He estimates that the CSB collects information on 800-900 chemical-release incidents annually, but because of budget, manpower and the intensive time required to effectively investigate each incident, Bresland said only eight to 12 major accidents are examined. Bresland said he would like to increase that number in future while still being selective about the incidents investigated.
Over the course of his career, Bresland has investigated fatal accidents resulting from explosions at a sugar refinery, an ink processing plant and even a convenience store that didn’t properly evacuate after encountering a propane leak. His organization’s mission, he said, is about much more than simply determining what went wrong at a specific site; it’s about education and prevention. That’s why in addition to issuing recommendations to a facility, the CSB has adopted an active role in communicating its findings through published reports, educational videos and press conferences.
“I don’t want to see any more combustible dust explosions,” he said. “I was at the Imperial Sugar facility, and it was a terrible tragedy. People were not only killed, they spent months and months in comas and suffered terrible burns before ultimately dying. These are so preventable. They should not happen. We need to get that message out.”
That’s just one of many messages that are part of an overall mission, described by Bresland, as moving companies in the chemical processing industry to be high-reliability organizations.
Realizing that goal, he explained, begins with awareness by those in the process industries of the numerous safety challenges posed by their operations – operations that are vital to the nation but ones in which the focus must be on both process safety and personnel safety.
In addition, efforts to address these safety issues must begin at the upper levels of each company, he added, noting a growing expectation for increased executive leadership on process safety.
“Part of what [company executives] do needs to come with an understanding of the fact that they’re dealing with large, complex, potentially hazardous operations,” he said.
“My message is run it safely, keep your plants running and keep your people safe,” Bresland said.
The symposium “Beyond Regulatory Compliance, Making Safety Second Nature” featured a wide variety of safety-related lectures and presentations, including incident surveillance and safety performance, equipment integrity, facility design, risk analysis, management for process safety and engineering ethics. In addition, the symposium featured exhibits from companies looking to demonstrate products, technology and software related to process safety.
Established in 1995, the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center is dedicated to enhancing safety in the chemical process industry. The center conducts various educational endeavors aimed at “making safety second nature” to everyone in the industry. In addition, center researchers work to develop safer processes, equipment, procedures and management strategies to minimize losses.
-30-
Contact: Ryan A. Garcia at (979) 845-9237 or via email: ryan.garcia99@tamu.edu
