Review – CSB Updates Accidental Chemical Release Reporting Data – 6-1-26

Yesterday the CSB updated their published list of reported chemical release incidents. They added 38 new incidents that occurred since the previous version was published in March 2026. These are not incidents that the CSB is investigating; these are incidents that were reported to the CSB under their Accidental Release Reporting rules (40 CFR 1604) through END DATE. 

The table below shows the top five states based upon the number of reported incidents since the December update was published. In this case, with the short time frame since the last update, these were the only states that had reported incident. 

For more information on the updated incident reporting data, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/csb-updates-accidental-chemical-release - subscription required. 

Short Takes – 6-16-26 - Federal Register Edition

4,4′-(1-Methylethylidene)bis[2,6-dibromophenol] (TBBPA) Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Notice of Availability and Request for Comment. Federal Register EPA TSCA availability notice. Summary: “he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is announcing the availability of and seeking public comment on the draft risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 4,4′-(1-Methylethylidene)bis[2,6-dibromophenol] (TBBPA). The purpose of risk evaluations under TSCA are to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health or the environment under the conditions of use (COUs), including unreasonable risk to potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by EPA, and without consideration of costs or non-risk factors. EPA is seeking comment on the draft risk evaluation for TBBPA.” 

NASA Small Business Supplier Development Program (Formerly Known as the NASA Mentor-Protégé Program). Federal Register NASA 60-day ICR revision notice. Summary: “The purpose of the Program is to provide incentives to NASA prime contractors (mentors) to assist small businesses and other protégés to enhance their capabilities and increase their participation in NASA, other Government, and in commercial contracts and subcontracts. Under the Program, mentor-protégé agreements specify the assistance to be provided by the mentor and agreement milestones, as well as reporting requirements for the mentor and protégé firm. This information collection (i.e., reports submitted pursuant to mentor-protégé agreements) is required by NASA to monitor the performance and progress of both the mentor and the protégé in this developmental assistance program.” 

NASA International Space Apps Challenge Applications. Federal Register NASA 60-day new ICR notice. Summary: “This collection of information supports NASA's International Space Apps Challenge, an international hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others, where teams can engage with NASA's free and open data to address challenges we face on Earth and in space. This collection consists of applications for individuals and organizations from around the world that want to support and participate in the NASA International Space Apps Challenge.” 

Hazardous Materials: Notice of Applications for New Special Permits. Federal Register PHMSA list of applications for special permits. Summary: “In accordance with the procedures governing the application for, and the processing of, special permits from the Department of Transportation's Hazardous Material Regulations, notice is hereby given that the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety has received the application described herein.” 

NOTE: Includes two permits for spacecraft in terrestrial transportation modes: 22302-N and 22304-N 

HR 9193 Introduced – Space Nuclear Power

Earlier this month, Rep Kennedy (R,UT) introduced HR 9193, the Powering the Future of American Space Dominance Act. The bill would require NASA to prepare reports to Congress on space nuclear propulsion, radioisotope heater and power units for lunar exploration, lunar exploration power demand requirements, and risk management approaches for commercial power partners. 

While nuclear propulsion is a subject for one for the NASA power reports, the main focus of this bill is power generation for long term lunar operations. With the first lunar base being planned for the next semi-decade, it seems just a little bit late for much of this, but NASA has (hopefully) been working on these topics for some time. This is more of an effort to have NASA comprehensively update Congress on what NASA will be requesting funding for in the next five to ten years. 

Review - HR 7696 Introduced – Grid Scale Testbed

Back in February, Resident Commissioner Hernandez (D,PR) introduced HR 7696, the AI Cyber Grid Protection Resilient Development Act of 2026. The bill would require CISA and DHS to establish a grant program to develop secure artificial intelligence (AI) cyber-physical testbeds to simulate grid-scale cyberattacks and train AI models safely. The bill would authorize $100 million per year through 2030 to fund the program. 

Moving Forward  

Hernandez is a member of the House Homeland Security Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered by the Committee. There will be substantial opposition to the amount of new funding authorized by this bill. More importantly, the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will probably oppose this bill because it does not include that Committee in the consideration of what is at base an energy program. This is especially true since the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in conjunction with DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), is already funding the Mjölnir AI Testbed which is already addressing these issues. 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, including a commentary suggesting cybersecurity requirements for the cyber-physical testbeds, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7696-introduced-grid-scale-testbed - subscription required. 

Review – 5 Advisories Published – 6-16-26

Today, CISA’s NCCIC-ICS published five control system security advisories for products from Rockwell Automation. 

Advisories  

Flex IO Advisory - This advisory describes two vulnerabilities in the Rockwell FLEX I/O EtherNet/IP Adapters.  

CompactLogix Advisory - This advisory describes two vulnerabilities in the Rockwell CompactLogix products. 

Logix 5370 Advisory - This advisory describes an improper resource shutdown or release vulnerability in the Rockwell Logix 5370 & 5570 Controllers. 

RSLinx Advisory - This advisory describes an improper restriction of operations withing the bounds of a memory buffer vulnerability (with publicly available exploit) in the Rockwell RSLinx Classic server. 

FactoryTalk Advisory - This advisory describes a missing authorization vulnerability in the Rockwell FactoryTalk Analytics PavilionX. 

For more information on these advisories, including a down-the-rabbit-hole look at the RSLinx vulnerability, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/5-advisories-published-6-16-26 - subscription required. 

Review - CSB Publishes FY2026 – FY2030 Strategic Plan

Yesterday, without fanfare or announcement, the Chemical Safety Board added a link to their new FY 2026 – 2030 Strategic Plan to their website. While the current administration continues to try to shut down the CSB, the Board has crafted their required look into the future. The report outlines three strategic goals and sets forth the objectives that support those goals, and the steps that the Board intends to take to achieve those ends. 

The three goals are:  

Goal 1: Safeguard U.S. communities, workers, the environment, and our nation’s critical industries by preventing recurrence of significant chemical incidents through independent investigations. 

Goal 2: Advocate safety and achieve change through recommendations, outreach, and education. 

Goal 3: Create and maintain an engaged, high-performing workforce. 

Commentary  

As with most organizations' goal statements, this document is broad in its scope and sweeping in its intent, and vague in its performance measures. In today’s political environment, however, the important thing is that the Board stood up and planned for their future. They still need to hope for Congressional funding in the face of presidential opposition. The publication of this Strategic Plan helps provide support for Congressional action. 

For more information on the details of the Strategic Plan, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/csb-publishes-fy2026-fy2030-strategic - subscription required.