[Federal Register: April 3, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 64)]
[Notices]
[Page 16260-16262]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03ap03-38]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD
Sunshine Act Meeting; Public Hearing: Kaltech Industries Group,
Inc. Incident
AGENCY: Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).
ACTION: Notice announcing Sunshine Act public hearing and requesting
public comment and participation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The CSB will hold a public hearing to examine findings and
preliminary conclusions resulting from its investigation into a
building fire explosion at Kaltech Industries Group, Inc., an
architectural sign manufacturer located at 123 West 19th Street, New
York City. The explosion that occurred April 26, 2002, injured 31
people, including 14 persons who were not employed by Kaltech. This
notice provides information regarding the CSB investigation into the
chemical incident, a request for comments on specific issues raised by
the investigation, and the date, time, location and agenda for the
public hearing. At the end of the staff and panel presentations, the
Board has also allocated time to take comments from the public.
DATES: The Public Hearing will be held on Wednesday April 16, 2003,
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY),
7th Avenue at 27th Street, New York City, New York.
Pre-Registration: The event is open to the public and there is no
fee for attendance. However, attendees are strongly encouraged to pre-
register, to ensure adequate seating arrangements. If you would like to
provide oral comments to the Board, please state your intention to do
so when pre-registering. Time for public comments is limited. Speakers
will be limited to approximately 4 minutes. Those unable to present
oral testimony because of time restrictions are urged to file written
comments. To pre-register, please e-mail
[[Page 16261]]
your name and affiliation by April 11, 2003, to Don.Holmstrom@csb.gov. Written Comments: The public is encouraged to submit written
comments to the Chemical Safety Board. Individuals, organizations,
businesses, or local, state or federal government agencies may submit
written comments. Such comments must be filed on or before May 5, 2003.
For further instructions on submitting comments, please see the ``Form
and Availability of Comments'' section below.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to provide oral comments at
the Public Hearing should be submitted to: Mr. Don Holmstrom, U.S.
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2175 K Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20037. Alternatively, they may be e-mailed to to
Don.Holmstrom@csb.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Selk, Office of Investigations
and Safety Programs, 202.261.7622.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Introduction
B. Background
C. Key Questions
D. Request for comments
E. Agenda
F. Sunshine Act Notice
A. Introduction
The CSB is an independent federal agency established in 1998 with
the mission to protect workers, the public, and the environment by
investigating and preventing chemical accidents. The CSB determines the
root causes of these accidents and makes safety recommendations to
government agencies, companies, and other organizations.
The CSB is nearing completion of its investigation into an incident
on April 26, 2002, involving an explosion and fire that occurred in a
10-story mixed use building in the Chelsea district in Manhattan, New
York City. A public hearing will be held on April 16, 2003, at 9 a.m.,
at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), 7th Avenue at 27th
Street, New York City, New York. CSB staff will present preliminary
findings and conclusions from this investigation to the Board. Major
issues involved in this investigation include hazard communication,
hazardous waste handling, and municipal oversight. The hearing provides
a forum for interested parties to provide input prior to CSB's
formulation of final recommendations and issuance of a report.
Interested parties will provide presentations to the Board, and at the
conclusion of these formal presentations, there will be an opportunity
for public comment.
B. Background
On April 26, 2002, an explosion and fire occurred in a 10-story
mixed-use commercial building in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, New
York City. The structure was built in 1902. It was occupied by a
variety of tenants, including commercial, professional service, and
manufacturing firms. At the time of the incident, Kaltech Industries
Group Inc. occupied the basement of the building and portions of the
mezzanine and first floor. Kaltech had leased space in the building for
about ten years. The incident originated in the basement space leased
by Kaltech Industries Group Inc.
Kaltech typically accumulated waste chemicals onsite and arranged
for them to be picked up periodically by a hazardous waste disposal
contractor. The day of the incident, Kaltech employees had just
finished consolidating hazardous waste from smaller containers into two
larger drums, when a violent chemical reaction started to take place in
one of the 55-gallon drums. An explosion occurred seconds later. The
highly confined environment of the basement offered limited pathways
for the explosion to vent. The blast was partially relieved via the
building's center hall stairway and the freight elevator. The explosion
injured 31 people, including 14 persons who were not employed by
Kaltech. Following the explosion, the New York City Building Department
issued an order to vacate the building pending a structural evaluation.
A few days later the structure was determined to be sound and tenants
were permitted to return. Operations at Kaltech, however, remained
suspended. The Fire Marshall retained control of Kaltech space while a
hazardous environment remediation contractor analyzed and removed the
chemicals and decontaminated the area.
Because of the serious nature of this incident and the fact that a
chemical reaction was probably involved, the U.S. Chemical Safety &
Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) initiated an investigation to
determine the root and contributing causes of the incident and to issue
recommendations to help prevent similar occurrences.
At the Public Hearing on April 16th, the CSB staff will present
preliminary findings regarding causes of this incident. No factual
analyses, conclusions or findings should be considered final.
After the Hearing the Board will allow time for public comment.
This comment period will close on May 5, 2003. Following the conclusion
of the public comment period, the CSB will review and carefully
consider all comments. The staff will then submit a final report on
this incident for Board consideration, including specific
recommendations targeted to prevent a similar accident like this from
occurring elsewhere.
The Board will carefully review the report from the staff and will
vote either in open public session or in a notation memorandum to
accept the report, its findings and recommendations. When a report and
its recommendations are approved, this will begin CSB's process for
disseminating the findings and recommendations of the report not only
to the recipients of recommendations but also to other public and
industry sectors. The CSB believes that this process will ultimately
lead to the adoption of recommendations and the growing body of safety
knowledge in the industry, which, in turn, should save future lives and
property.
C. Key Questions
Questions for Panel Presenters
(1) How does the New York City Fire Prevention Code function to
control the handling of incompatible materials such as nitric acid and
flammable liquids? What are the requirements of the Code's permitting
provisions, and are they sufficient to prevent the mixing of
incompatible materials?
(2) In light of the Kaltech incident are there changes to the New
York City Fire Prevention Code that would enhance the safe handling of
hazardous materials such as nitric acid? If so, what areas should be
addressed? In responding, consider the following topics:
a. Hazardous material identification and labeling.
b. Permitting requirements such as the submission of management
plans and inventory statements.
c. MSDS availability to the workforce.
d. Worker training.
e. The safe separation of incompatible materials in manufacturing
facilities.
(3) Do model fire codes such as the International Code Council's
International Fire Code and National Fire Protection Association's
National Fire Code present a more comprehensive approach to hazardous
materials management in these areas? Are there other cities or states
that have adopted more effective hazardous material provisions in their
fire code? How do the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire
Prevention and Building Code Act affect the fire code obligations of
New York City?
(4) By what means do the New York City Fire Department and the
Department of Environmental Protection
[[Page 16262]]
exchange information concerning facilities' use and storage of
hazardous materials? Are there ways in which they can communicate more
effectively concerning hazardous material inventory and labeling
requirements?
Comments should address the questions listed above. CSB will accept
verbal comments at the public hearing. Verbal comments must be limited
to 4 minutes. Those wishing to make verbal comments should pre-register
by April 11, 2003. To pre-register, send your name and a brief outline
of your comments to the person listed in ADDRESSES.
D. Request for Comments
The CSB requests that interested parties submit written comments on
the above questions to facilitate greater understanding of the issues.
Comments should indicate the number(s) of the specific question(s)
being answered, provide responses to questions in numerical order, and
use a separate page for each question answered. Comments should be
captioned ``Kaltech Incident --Comments,'' and must be filed on or
before May 5, 2003.
Parties sending written comments should submit an original and two
copies of each document. To enable prompt review and public access,
paper submissions should include a version on diskette in PDF, ASCII,
or Microsoft Word format. Diskettes should be labeled with the name of
the party, and the name and version of the word processing program used
to create the document. Alternatively, comments may be mailed to
Don.Holmstrom@csb.gov. Written comments will be available for public
inspection in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C.
552, and CSB regulations.
E. Agenda (9 a.m.-1 p.m.)
I. CSB Introduction (1 hour)
II. New York City panel (1 hour)
III. Fire Safety Experts' panel (1hour)
IV. Comments from interested parties and the public (1 hour)
F. Sunshine Act Notice
The United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
announces that it will convene a Public Hearing beginning on Wednesday
April 16, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fashion Institute of
Technology (SUNY), 7th Avenue at 27th Street, New York City, New York.
Topics will include: CSB's investigation of the Kaltech Industries
Group. The meeting will be open to the public. Please notify CSB if a
translator or interpreter is needed, 10 business days prior to the
public meeting. For more information, please contact the Chemical
Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's Office of Congressional and
Public Affairs, 202-261-7600, or visit our Web site at: www.csb.gov.
Christopher W. Warner,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-8182 Filed 3-31-03; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 6350-01-P