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8 / July 2021 powderbulk.com PBE UPFRONT INDUSTRY NEWS Biden nominates three for US Chemical Safety Board President Biden announced the nomination of three people to the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) in response to calls from US sena- tors and labor and industry groups to fill the board's open seats. The beleaguered agency wasn't supported during the previous administration under President Trump, who proposed cutting the agency three times. The lack of support led to many experienced investigators leaving the agency. The current CSB Chairperson and CEO (and only board member), Katherine Lemos, was welcoming of the new nominations. Accord- ing to her statement on the matter, "This additional support from such technically strong and pro- fessionally proficient candidates will strengthen our advocacy and outreach efforts to make chemical facilities safer for workers, commu- nities, and the environment." The agency currently has a backlog of cases and lacks the board members necessary to review safety incident investigations and make recom- mendations, an important step in the agency's mission statement. The White House issued the following information on the nom- inees, who must be approved by the Senate: • Sylvia E. Johnson works for the National Education Asso- ciation in the Government Relations department. She holds a PhD from Old Domin- ion University in urban health services research with a con- centration in occupational and environmental health. • Steve Owens works as an attor- ney for Squire Patton Boggs LLP in Phoenix, AZ. He pre- accounted for more than 75 percent of the recorded combustible dust fires and explosions. These materi- als also were involved in 57 percent of the injuries and 40 percent of the fatalities for the year. In terms of equipment types that are associated with combusti- ble dust incidents, the 2020 report shows that silos had the highest percentage of incidents with 30 fires and 13 explosions reported. In the 2017 and 2018 reports, dust collection systems had the highest percentage of incidents. In contrast, dust collection systems were cited as being the originating location of only 13 percent of fires and explo- sions in 2020. Storage silos also were associ- ated with more injuries than other equipment types. After silos, other storage (small bins, hoppers, and storage buildings), dust collection systems, dryers, and elevators and conveyors were most likely to result in injuries. In the report's table breaking down what event occurred (fire or explosion) with each equipment type along with injury and fatality counts, storage silos stand out with a high injury rate. The table also notes group- ings of "Other" and "No details" as equipment type categories, which cover various other incidents, some of which are discussed further in the report. For more info and to download a copy of the report, visit www.dustsafetyscience. com/2020-report. Rival railway companies seek to acquire Kansas City Southern Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) and Canadian Pacific Rail- way Ltd. (CPR) are both seeking to acquire Kansas City Southern (KCS). The two potential deals require clearance by regulators who were viously served as the US EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. • Jennifer Sass works as a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. She earned a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine, Depart- ment of Anatomy and Cell Biology and a postdoctoral certificate from the Univer- sity of Maryland, College of Medicine, Program in Human Health and the Environment. The CSB, Washington, DC, is an independent federal agency that investigates and determines the cause or probable cause of indus- trial chemical incidents resulting from the accidental release of a regulated or extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air. Dust Safety Science releases dust incidents report for 2020 Dust Safety Science, a company dedicated to ensuring the safe handling of combustible dust and powdered materials, has released its annual Combustible Dust Incident Report on combustible dust inci- dents from around the world. The report and analysis are generated using publicly available news arti- cles and resources. The data, which includes the US and the rest of the world, shows that in 2020, there were 165 fires and 60 explosions. These incidents resulted in 88 injuries and 10 fatal- ities. In 2020, 70 percent of the fatalities recorded occurred because of dust explosions. In terms of inju- ries, 73 percent occurred due to explosions and 27 percent occurred due to fires. The types of materials involved in these incidents revealed that food and wood products