UPDATED Washington, DC, May 10, 2006 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today said it has concluded its assessment of the recent propylene fire that damaged a production unit at the Huntsman Corporation olefins facility in Port Arthur, Texas. The CSB team has returned to Washington, and the independent federal agency does not plan to conduct any further investigation of the incident. The fire on April 29 forced the shutdown of the facility but caused no deaths or serious injuries; one responder was treated for heat stress and released. "Huntsman has assembled an internal investigation team, and we look forward to learning their conclusions," said CSB investigator John Vorderbrueggen. "We thank Huntsman personnel for their exemplary cooperation during our three-day assessment."

CSB Chairman Carolyn W. Merritt said, "This was a potentially significant incident for which we unfortunately do not have the resources to pursue a fuller investigation."

For more information, contact Director of Public Affairs Daniel Horowitz at (202) 261-7613.

CSB Team to Assess Propylene Explosion at Huntsman Olefins Facility

Washington, DC, May 1, 2006 - A team of investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying to the site of Saturday morning's explosion at a propylene refrigeration unit at the Huntsman Corporation olefins plant in Port Arthur, Texas. No injuries were reported, but the plant has been shut down and fires continued to burn on Monday.

Investigator John Vorderbrueggen will lead a team of four that will arrive at the facility on Tuesday morning. In 2004, the CSB investigated a peroxide explosion at the Huntsman facility in Port Neches, Texas, and issued a related safety bulletin entitled "Removal of Hazardous Material from Piping Systems." The CSB is currently investigating a propylene leak and fire that occurred at the Formosa Plastics facility in Point Comfort, Texas, in October 2005.

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 safety management systems, regulations, and industry standards.

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, contact Director of Public Affairs Dr. Daniel Horowitz at (202) 261-7613 (office) or (202) 441-6074 (cell).