New CSB Incident Report Volumes Provide Valuable Lessons for Process Safety
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has released a series of summary reports compiling serious chemical incidents reported under its Accidental Release Reporting Rule. These volumes offer concise overviews and probable causes for dozens of events, making them excellent quick-reference resources for process safety professionals. The incident reports, of course, are also available on their website individually as always.
As of April 2026, the four volumes together cover 94 serious chemical incidents across 31 states, resulting in 16 fatalities, 75 serious injuries, and over $4.5 billion in property damage. The newest volume was provided in February, 2026. The incidents discussed in volume 4 are shown below.
Volume Summaries
- Volume 1 (January 2025) Covers 26 incidents from April 2020 to September 2023.
- Volume 2 (March 2025) Covers 25 incidents from May 2020 to August 2024 across 14 states.
- Volume 3 (July 2025) Covers 30 incidents across 15 states, with 2 fatalities and 25 serious injuries.
- Volume 4 (February 2026) Covers 13 major incidents across 7 states, including 2 fatalities and over $1 billion in damage. Highlights two high-consequence 2025 incidents involving mistaken equipment disassembly.
Why These Reports Matter
These volumes highlight recurring process safety issues and provide real-world examples for hazard recognition, common failure modes, and lessons learned. They are especially useful for training, PHA revalidation, and strengthening operational discipline.
All volumes are freely available on the CSB website. New volumes will be added as they are released.
What recurring themes have you seen in recent incidents? Share your thoughts in the comments or contact me at jim@psmnews.com.