Following The Guardian’s report, PCI reviewed the latest CSB accidental-release database, PEER’s analysis and the pending U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking to verify the figures and examine their relevance to coatings manufacturers, raw-material suppliers and other chemical operations.

Federal Data Overview

The CSB’s June 1, 2026, accidental-release database lists 133 reportable events during 2025, compared with 83 in 2021. That represents an increase of approximately 60%.

The number of events involving at least one fatality or serious injury increased from 60 in 2021 to 91 in 2025, an increase of approximately 52%.

The totals are slightly higher than those cited by PEER and The Guardian. PEER reported 131 accidental releases in 2025, including 89 events involving injuries or fatalities.

The reason for the two-event difference is not stated. The CSB explains that its database is revised quarterly and may include corrections to previously reported events as well as incidents that were not reported on time.

The CSB reporting rule requires owners and operators of stationary sources to promptly report accidental releases of regulated or extremely hazardous substances that result in a fatality, serious injury or substantial property damage.

The database includes incidents reported since March 23, 2020, when the federal reporting regulation took effect.

PEER Questions Proposed Changes

PEER connected the increase in reported accidents to EPA’s proposal to revise portions of the federal Risk Management Program, or RMP.

The nonprofit organization represents current and former government employees working in environmental protection, public health, land management and related fields.

PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse said the increase demonstrates the need to retain federal chemical-safety protections.

“Serious chemical accidents are becoming an almost daily occurrence,” Whitehouse said in the organization’s announcement.

That conclusion represents PEER’s interpretation of the data. The CSB database documents reported incidents but does not identify a single cause for the increase or assess the potential effects of EPA’s proposed regulatory changes.

EPA Considers RMP Revisions

EPA published its Common Sense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention proposed rule in the Federal Register on Feb. 24, 2026.

The proposal would revise requirements established through the agency’s 2024 Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention rule.

EPA said the proposed changes are intended to reduce regulatory burdens, avoid duplicative requirements and better align the RMP regulations with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Process Safety Management standard.

According to an EPA fact sheet, approximately 11,500 facilities are currently subject to RMP regulations.

Covered operations include chemical manufacturers and distributors, oil refineries, chemical warehouses, agricultural suppliers, water- and wastewater-treatment facilities, and food and beverage manufacturers.

Facilities are subject to the regulations when specified hazardous substances are present above established thresholds. Covered facilities must develop risk management plans that identify the potential effects of an accident, explain the steps being taken to prevent an accident and specify emergency-response procedures.

Coatings manufacturers and raw-material suppliers may be subject to the program when their facilities possess listed toxic or flammable substances above the applicable thresholds.

Requirements Under Review

EPA has proposed rescinding or modifying requirements involving:

• Safer-technology and alternatives analyses;
• Third-party compliance audits;
• Employee participation and stop-work authority;
• Documentation of declined safety recommendations;
• Public access to certain chemical-hazard information;
• Stationary-source siting and natural-hazard evaluations; and
• Coordination and notification involving local emergency responders.

EPA said the proposal would remove duplicative requirements and provisions for which the agency says specific data may not be available to demonstrate a reduction in accidental chemical releases.

The agency estimates that the proposal, if finalized, would produce annualized cost savings of approximately $235 million to $242 million, depending on the discount rate used.

The public comment period closed May 11, 2026. The revisions remain proposed and have not taken effect.

The complete regulatory proposal is available through the Federal Register.

Different Programs Cover Different Events

The CSB accidental-release reporting rule and EPA’s Risk Management Program cover overlapping but different groups of facilities and incidents.

The CSB rule requires the reporting of qualifying accidental releases at stationary sources. The RMP regulations apply specifically to facilities possessing listed hazardous substances above established quantities.

The CSB database does not identify how many of the 133 events reported in 2025 occurred at RMP-regulated facilities.

The figures also do not establish that EPA’s proposed revisions caused the increase in reported incidents. The rise occurred before the pending revisions were proposed, and the changes have not been finalized.

Sources

• The Guardian

• U.S. Chemical Safety Board: Incident Reporting Rule Submission Information and Data

• U.S. Chemical Safety Board: Accidental Release Reporting Rule Data, June 1, 2026

• EPA: Common Sense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention Proposed Rule

• EPA: Fact Sheet on the Proposed Risk Management Program Revisions

• Federal Register: Proposed Risk Management Program Revisions

• Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility: Industrial Chemical Accidents Rise Amid Safety Rollbacks

Data note: PCI calculated the annual event totals directly from the CSB’s June 1, 2026, downloadable spreadsheet. PEER’s June 29 release cited 131 events and 89 events involving injuries or fatalities for 2025. Because the reason for the two-event difference is not stated, this article uses the totals obtained from the current federal dataset and presents PEER’s figures only with attribution.

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