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U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

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Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#61

Post by no_wizard »

lumost wrote: post #39
gottorf wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> public institutions of enormous importance A case of the baby getting thrown out with the bathwater, I suppose. And make no mistake: there was enough dirty bathwater to go around.

Every organization is dysfunctional, the only question is whether its more functional than the alternative. This applies to private enterprises (metaverse anyone?) as well as the government. After 50+ years of budget cuts, what makes us think that the solution is more budget cuts?

The US political establishment, particularly at rhetoric federal level, has become a “whims of the in charge” bureaucracy that can’t fulfill itself to the point that every day Americans feel their impact - positive or negative.

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#63

Post by kumarvvr »

okanat wrote: post #56
kumarvvr wrote: post #17

It is highly surprising that the narrative in the US has morphed the expenses on public institutions of enormous importance, into wastage , something that has to be cut or eliminated. Why is it that no one is pointing out the contribution of these institutions to the US and the world? The US, has a society, has grown so materialistic, that they fail to see anything beyond money. Somethings cannot be measured by money…

Nothing surprising there. The US-led social media finally achived its biggest success. It made weaponized ignorance viable at an enormous scale. Not just in the US but all over the world. The fight now is anybody with some critical thought ability vs willfully and violently ignorant. The former is getting fewer in the numbers and the latter is out for blood. We need to be very efficient to disarm and passivize the vi…

> all over the world

Not in India. Here, there is no concept of Big Govt. The concept is "What is this govt. going to give me for free for me to vote for it"

Its the other end of the complimentary spectrum.

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#64

Post by andrewflnr »

vpribish wrote: post #6

You have to check out their incredible safety investigation videos on youtube. I don't know how well-organized or efficient they are but clearly their role needs to be played by someone - and as a taxpayer I appreciate that they are doing it in a way that educates and informs.

They just put out an ad for themselves: https://youtu.be/2z7h5BOZ2Hk?si=n539-vOz-NhtDncT Pretty good value proposition.

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#65

Post by heavyset_go »

drjolly wrote: post #16

I think this is pretty consistent with the old school 1950s views of the current administration. Companies can prioritize profits over people again. Yeah, dump in the rivers, dump in the woods, just drive around in circles dumping in an empty lot. You don’t need masks- give everyone cancer and blow some shit up, maybe get some acid burns. Super-fund sites? When was the last one we had anyway- we need more of ‘em- lot…

> I think this is pretty consistent with the old school 1950s views of the current administration.

The effects are functionally the same, but I think the ideology and rhetoric behind then and now have changed.

There really isn't a purportedly "principled" system of logic behind these decisions, in the past these decisions would be dressed in principled rhetoric no matter how heinous they realistically were.

They aren't even bothering to dress it up in rhetoric that says there is something noble behind these decisions.

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#66

Post by SoftTalker »

Hawxy wrote: post #37
vpribish wrote: post #6

You have to check out their incredible safety investigation videos on youtube. I don't know how well-organized or efficient they are but clearly their role needs to be played by someone - and as a taxpayer I appreciate that they are doing it in a way that educates and informs.

> I don't know how well-organized or efficient they are They're 50 employees with an annual budget of $14.4 million. The cost/benefit ratio here is very good.

[flagged]

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#67

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

nerdsniper wrote: post #44
drjolly wrote: post #16

I think this is pretty consistent with the old school 1950s views of the current administration. Companies can prioritize profits over people again. Yeah, dump in the rivers, dump in the woods, just drive around in circles dumping in an empty lot. You don’t need masks- give everyone cancer and blow some shit up, maybe get some acid burns. Super-fund sites? When was the last one we had anyway- we need more of ‘em- lot…

I wrote elsewhere: > Please note that the CSB is not an enforcement agency - they don’t assign fault or levee fines or bring any charges or write any regulation.

I don't necessarily think that goes against what the parent commenter is saying. The CSB does apparently do investigations and root cause analysis of chemical accidents and spills - in my mind they sound analogous to the NTSB and how they investigate aviation accidents.

So, by that analogy, I think the NTSB is amazing and has done crucial, instrumental work that makes flying safer (as the saying goes, aviation regulations are written in blood). So I think getting rid of the CSB sounds colossally stupid, and I think it's elimination could lead to a willingness by companies to be more careless when it comes to chemical safety.

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#68

Post by Rebelgecko »

SoftTalker wrote: post #66
Hawxy wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know how well-organized or efficient they are They're 50 employees with an annual budget of $14.4 million. The cost/benefit ratio here is very good.

[flagged]

Why would they want to fund a group that calls them out for taking deadly shortcuts to save money?

Re: U.S. Chemical Safety Board could be eliminated

#70

Post by nerdsniper »

smadge wrote: post #53
nerdsniper wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wrote elsewhere: > Please note that the CSB is not an enforcement agency - they don’t assign fault or levee fines or bring any charges or write any regulation.

What knowledge are you trying to impart with this fact? Do CSB recommendations inform policy? Do CSB recommendations get implemented? Do CSB recommendations when implemented increase safety?

I think if the goal is to “de-regulate”, there are other agencies that could be shut down instead. CSB provides all companies with the know-how to choose to prevent giant disasters. Shutting down this agency may be motivated by a desire to reduce regulation but it’s really counterproductive.

Someone who is against regulation might still support the work of CSB because it assists the operations of any de-regulated industries.

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