Refinery Explosion Cause: No Investigation

The Chemical Safety Board, the lead U.S.A. federal agency tasked with  investigating and determining the root causes of accidents similiar in severity to the recent massive Big Spring ,Texas refinery explosion will not be able to investigate the incident due to under staffing and under funding.

[q
url="http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19312599&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6"]Horowitz
said the Chemical Safety Board would normally investigate Monday's incident as
well, but with the recent sugar refinery explosion in Georgia and other
incidents they're still investigating, they simply don't have the
resources.[/q]This  troubling development puts our nation at great
economic and national security risk. Especially since the national petroleum
refining infrastructure is the fuel that maintains and provides the means for the United States in maintaining social and global economic stability. 

A national movement is now underway in the United
States to capture the attention of federal legislators concerning the ongoing problem concerning failed governmental policy in addressing  current meager workplace safety standards that place our industrial sector at risk.
[q
url="http://www.pr-inside.com/emergency-petition-assails-osha-s-refusal-r448456.htm"]Leading
worker organizations today called on the U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an emergency
standard on combustible dust. The United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union (UFCW) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters filed
a petition with the U.S. Department[/q]For the reader to understand the scope
of the problem, one must understand that OSHA's function is solely to determine
if safety and health violations were not followed and then to initiate fines
and penalty procedures.

So who is tasked with finding the root cause
of accident? This is where the U. S. Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board  (CSB) enters the picture. This independent
federal agency is the cream of the crop when it comes to determining the root cause of major accidents.

The problem is under staffing and under financing for
the 16 professional investigators that are tasked with deploying and
investigating accidents for the entire United States. Last year in 2007
there were 937 incidents with 31 of the accidents that were serious enough
in nature to require deployment of the investigators. Yet only eight of the
incidents had CSB investigators deployed in determining the root cause of the
accident.

Would it be acceptable to have 31 airline crashes and only eight
accidents where the National Transportation Board and FAA deployed?. The
CSB is being funded with appropriations from Congress with less than $10
million dollars. About the same amount it would cost for a new running trail, expanded tennis facilities, a pedestrian bridge, and other amenities at a local park in Houston, Texas.

[q
url="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/memorial/news/5554396.html"]City
officials and local parks advocates Tuesday launched a $10 million fund raising
campaign for a new running trail, expanded tennis facilities, a pedestrian
bridge and other amenities at Memorial Park.[/q]So now we stand at the abyss
where our entire nations workforce and industrial infrastructure rates in the same importance as leisure time
activities?