The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a new safety video on its investigation into the August 2020 fire and toxic gas release at the Bio-Lab Lake Charles chemical facility in Westlake, Louisiana, the board announced January 7.

The incident occurred when the facility was severely damaged by Hurricane Laura.

The safety video, “Fire From the Storm: Chemical Release at Bio-Lab,” includes an animation of events leading up to the incident and commentary from CSB Board Member Catherine Sandoval and Investigator-in-Charge Vonzella Vincent.

In the board’s April 2023 final report on the Westlake chemical fire and toxic gas release, the CSB found five key safety issues related to the incident:

• Extreme weather preparation,
• Process hazard analyses implementation,
• Emergency preparedness and response,
• Adherence to applicable hazardous materials code, and
• Regulatory coverage of reactive chemical hazards.

The CSB suggested that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) revise their regulations for reactive chemical hazards. Later that year, the board sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) urging it to address hurricanes and other high-wind extreme weather events in updates to its Transmission System Planning Performance Requirements for the nation’s bulk-power system. The board cited the Westlake incident and fires at the Arkema Inc. chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, during Hurricane Harvey.

The video highlights safety recommendations made by the CSB to the state of Louisiana, the EPA, and OSHA. The CSB is an independent federal agency that investigates accidents at refineries and chemical facilities without enforcement or rulemaking authority. The board issues recommendations for employers, industry groups, and other government agencies in its investigation reports.

CSB urges chemical facilities to prepare for extreme cold

The CSB recently reemphasized the importance of preparing chemical facilities for extreme cold winter weather, including identifying and implementing best safety practices for cold weather operations, to avoid serious chemical accidents this winter.

CSB data on chemical releases has shown a notable increase in incidents at chemical facilities during the cold weather months, according to the board. The CSB has identified numerous incidents illustrating the importance of effective winterization programs at refineries, chemical plants, and other facilities that contain hazardous materials.

“Chemical facilities are especially susceptible to incidents during the winter months when they can be affected by extreme cold weather,” CSB Chairperson Steve Owens said in a board statement. “Every chemical facility must take steps now to winterize its processes in order prevent a major chemical incident from occurring and putting communities, workers, and the environment in serious risk.”

Guidance offered by the CSB includes a safety digest entitled “Preparing Equipment and Instrumentation for Cold Weather Operations.” The digest stresses the need for surveying “dead legs” (piping that rarely or intermittently sees process flow) and, ideally, removing or permanently and effectively isolating them from hazardous process streams. Equipment that’s susceptible to ice or hydrate formation in cold weather should be identified and properly winterized, according to the board.

The CSB also referred companies to Recommended Practices ((RP) 2001) from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which addresses potential issues encountered in freezing weather.