For more information, go to: Text of Memorandum of Cooperation

(Washington, DC - October 20, 2003) The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today agreed to a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), establishing a new working relationship between the two national safety agencies.

CSB Chairman Carolyn W. Merritt, who signed the agreement with KOSHA President Kim Yong-Dal, said: "We are honored to have the first bilateral agreement of this kind with our colleagues from the Republic of Korea. The agreement will allow accident investigators from the two countries to learn from each other and share reports and other information. As President Kim and I discussed today, chemical plant safety is an international exercise that warrants the best thinking from around the world."

The agreement provides for bilateral exchanges of investigative staff and for the Korean translation and publication of CSB investigation reports and web information. The first-of-its-kind agreement, funded by KOSHA, has an initial term of three years. The full text of the agreement is available from the Legal Affairs section of CSB's website, www.csb.gov.

KOSHA was established on December 9, 1987, for the purpose of promoting worker safety and health and encouraging employers to carry out accident prevention activities that contribute to the economic development including technical support for the industrial accidents investigations, the dissemination of accident prevention technologies, guidance and education of industrial safety and health technologies, and the testing and inspection of facilities for harmful and hazardous materials.

The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. CSB investigations look into all aspects of such events, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in safety management systems. Typically, the investigations involve extensive witness interviews, examination of physical evidence, and chemical and forensic testing. 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 to prevent future accidents. Further information is available from www.csb.gov or by contacting Daniel Horowitz at (202) 261-7613.