Chemical Safety Board Chair Steve Owens
Washington — Back to operating without a quorum, the Chemical Safety Board remains resolute about advancing its mission, agency Chair Steve Owens says.
Owens spoke during a Dec. 11 public business meeting that included highlights of CSB’s recent accomplishments and safety resources.
“We are currently less than 50 employees at the CSB,” he said, “and every one of them, as you heard from the presentation today, are running as fast as they can on multiple fronts to produce terrific work that has very significant impacts for chemical safety.”
Owens spoke after former board member Catherine J.K. Sandoval offered input during the public comment portion of the meeting. Sandoval, who resigned from her CSB post in July, according to an E&E News by Politico report, said the board’s “work in monitoring, reporting and … making sure the recommendations (from reports) are investigated and implemented fully is really vital to our nation.”
Sandoval said she had returned to work as a law professor at Santa Clara University, her occupation before she was sworn in for a five-year term at CSB on Feb. 2, 2023. Her tenure at the short-staffed agency had filled a third seat on the five-member board.
CSB carried on with only two board members for about a year before Sandoval joined CSB member Sylvia Johnson and Owens, whose terms are set to expire in February 2027.
“It was a great honor to have been a part of this organization,” Sandoval said during the meeting, adding that she’ll “continue to be part of the family from the other side.”
CSB was frequently a target for elimination during President Donald Trump’s first term. The Trump administration again aimed to shutter the agency in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, released May 30.
Owens defended the agency in a June video, saying CSB “more than pays for itself in costs saved by preventing serious chemical incidents.” The video touted CSB’s accomplishments since its 1998 inception, including issuing more than 1,000 safety recommendations.
In July, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would allocate $14.4 million annually to CSB through FY 2026, sending the measure to the full Senate.
McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.
Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication