Washington, DC, July 10, 2007 - U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman Carolyn W. Merritt will testify today as the first witness in a Senate hearing entitled, "Lessons Learned from Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Investigations, Including Texas City, Texas." The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. eastern time today, in the Dirksen Senate Building, Room 406. Please visit http://epw.senate.gov to view the hearing webcast. The webcast link will be posted on the committee website once the hearing begins. The hearing has been convened by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality, chaired by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ). Senator David Vitter (R-LA) is the ranking member.

The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.

The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit our website, www.csb.gov.

For more information, please contact Jennifer Jones at (202) 261-3603 or Daniel Horowitz at (202) 261-7613.