A safety digest highlights the value of worker participation to prevent chemical incidents. Produced by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the digest notes that lack of worker participation was a factor in several major incidents investigated by the CSB. In each case, workers and their representatives were not engaged to help identify hazards and reduce risks.

The digest discusses four incidents that led to a total of 13 employee deaths, many injuries and, in one case, 15,000 residents living near the facility seeking medical evaluation. The incidents took place at an explosives manufacturing site, a chemical production facility and two oil refineries. Each of the investigations found that worker participation programs were inadequate despite the existence of federal regulations and industry standards.
 
The safety digest can be found on the CSB’s website.