THE AUTHORITY ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH AND LOSS PREVENTION CSB: Chemical Dust Explosions Are a 'Serious Problem' - 06/23/2005 Carolyn Merritt, chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), declared chemical dust explosions in the United States are a "serious industrial safety problem" when she opened a daylong hearing on the hazards of such accidents. Merritt noted CSB's preliminary research reveals that nearly 200 dust fires and explosions have occurred in U.S. industrial facilities over the past 25 years, resulting in approximately 100 fatalities and 600 injuries. "Dust explosions are preventable," she said at the hearing, convened by the CSB as part of an ongoing investigation into the causes and prevention of dust explosions in the United States. "Dust explosions often cause serious loss of life and

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