Review - CSB Updated the Status of 5 Investigation Recommendations – 9-16-26

Earlier this week, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) updated their Recent Recommendation Status Updates page, closing three recommendations with ‘acceptable action’, one with ‘acceptable alternative actions’, and one with ‘exceeds recommended action’. These actions left 129 of 1061 recommendations open. Additionally, the CSB updated the open status of three recommendations. The CSB took all of these actions on September 16th, 2026. The previous update was published on August 6th, 2026. 

Closed Recommendations  

The five recently closed recommendations are: 

• Bio-Lab Lake Charles Chemical Fire and Release - 2020-05-I-LA-3 - Bio-Lab Lake Charles,  
• Foundation Food Group Fatal Chemical Release - 2021-03-I-GA-2 - Messer LLC,  
• Foundation Food Group Fatal Chemical Release - 2021-03-I-GA-3 - Messer LLC, 
• Givaudan Sense Colour Explosion - 2024-06-I-KY-11 - International Molasses Corporation LTD, and 
• Givaudan Sense Colour Explosion - 2024-06-I-KY-12 - Corn Refiners Association. 

For more information on the investigation responses, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/csb-updated-the-status-of-5-investigation - subscription required. 

Review - CSB Publishes Shell Polymers Final Report

On Tuesday, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced that it had published their final report on the June 2025, process explosion at the Shell Polymers Monaca (Shell) facility in Monaca, Pennsylvania. While no deaths or injuries were caused by this explosion, it did result in $95 million in property damages and the release of an estimated 5,100 pounds of ethylene and combustion products. This currently leaves six ongoing investigations. 

According to the Executive Summary of the Report:  

“On the day of the incident, Shell was returning Furnace 5 to operation after cleaning its coke trap. During the return to operation, a process control engineer (also called a PACO engineer), who had never previously performed the task involved in this procedure, inadvertently opened a valve during the start-up sequence, leading to an unintended flow path of flammable cracked gas between the downstream quench tower and Furnace 5. Four of the other seven furnaces were actively producing cracked gas, and the flammable cracked gas backflowed from the quench tower to the furnace. Roughly just 6 minutes after the PACO engineer sent the inadvertent open command to the valve, cracked gas entered the firebox, contacted the lit pilots, and ignited.” 

Recommendations  

The Report makes two safety recommendations, both for Shell Polymers Monaca: 

2025-05-I-PA-1 – Review the Shell Polymers Monaca Ethane Cracking Unit process hazard analysis to identify process deviations that are addressed solely with administrative controls. Implement an inherently safer design or an engineered control for any scenario identified that could result in a fatality, serious injury, or substantial property damage. 

2025-05-I-PA-2 – Based on licensor input and good industry practices, such as ANSI/ISA-61511-2-2018 / IEC 61511-2:2016, Functional Safety – Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process Industry Sector – Part 2: Guidelines for the application of IEC 61511-1:2016 and Part 3: Guidance for the Determination of the Required Safety Integrity Levels, implement and maintain an engineered control to prevent backflow of cracked gas into a furnace during all modes of furnace operation. 

For more information on the report, including safety issues identified, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/csb-publishes-shell-polymers-final - subscription required. 

CSB Publishes Update for Dynawave Tank Failure Investigation

Yesterday, the Chemical Safety Board announced the publication of an update on their investigation of the May 26th, 2026, fatal white liquor release at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Facility in Longview, WA. That incident killed 11 employees and seriously injured three other employees. CSB announced their investigation of the incident the following day. 

The update published today provided background information on the facility, a description of the pulp process that produced and used the white liquor stored in the failed tank, and a brief overview of the incident timeline. The ongoing investigation is concentrating on:  

• Inspecting G Tank and determining the failure mode and cause(s) of the tank failure; 
• NDP’s mechanical integrity policies and practices; 
• NDP’s actions to inspect, repair, and/or replace G Tank and other atmospheric storage tanks; 
• NDP’s policies and practices to manage change; 
• NDP’s capital project management policies and practices; 
• NDP’s emergency response policies and procedures; 
• NDP’s hazard evaluation policies and procedures; and 
• Regulatory requirements and industry guidance for paper mills. 

CSB Releases Fatal Nitrogen Gas Release Safety Video

Yesterday, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced that it had released a new chemical safety video, Fatal Fog: Liquid Nitrogen Release at Foundation Food Group, based upon its investigation of the January 28th, 2021, fatal Foundation Food Group liquid nitrogen release in Gainesville, GA. Six people died of asphyxiation during the incident where a bent bubbler tube failed to properly control the level of liquid nitrogen in an emersion freezer. 

Review - CSB Updated the Status of 6 Investigation Recommendations – 8-6-26

Yesterday, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) updated their Recent Recommendation Status Updates page, closing three recommendations with acceptable action, one with exceeds recommended actions, and one with acceptable alternative actions. These actions left 127 of 1059 recommendations open. Additionally, the CSB updated the open status of one recommendation. The CSB took all of these actions on August 6th, 2026. The previous update was published on July 10th, 2026. 

The number recently closed recommendations are: 

• Foundation Food Group Fatal Chemical Release - 2021-03-I-GA-R2 - Messer LLC, 
• Foundation Food Group Fatal Chemical Release - 2021-03-I-GA-R3 - Messer LLC, 
• Didion Milling Company Explosion and Fire - 2017-07-I-WI-R3 - Didion Milling, Inc., 
• Didion Milling Company Explosion and Fire - 2017-07-I-WI-R8 - Didion Milling, Inc., and 
• Givaudan Sense Colour Explosion - 2024-06-I-KY-R12 - Corn Refiners Association. 

The Board separately reported that Didion Milling has now implemented all nine of the recommendations made in the Board’s report on their investigation of the fatal May 2017 explosion at Didion’s Cambria, Wisconsin, facility. 

For more information on the investigation responses, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/csb-updated-the-status-of-6-investigation-22f - subscription required.