Independent Accident Investigation Board

As mentioned earlier and demonstrated by a lot of independent accident investigations, there is significant merit to creating an independent accident investigation board. It must have the authority and autonomy to fully investigate accidents down 

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An accident analysis report may be prepared by the system safety working group and/or an independent accident investigation board. The recommended method for serious accidents is for the SSWG to prepare an accident analysis report based on its own investigation and upon the findings of the traditional accident report prepared by the accident investigation board. 

The growing importance of this question of independence is also seen in the trend to establish independent accident investigation boards, notably in transport safely. However, the recent disasters in the Netherlands have prompted the decision to extend the remit of such a board to all types in incident and disaster, adding industrial safety, agricultural disasters such as foot and mouth, food-related concerns such as genetically manipulated crops and even civil disturbance and public safety incidents. 

An accident should be investigated by a group of individuals who are as free from bias and independent from the accident participants as reasonable. It should ensure that the investigation is as free from external influences as possible. Creating an accident investigation board can do this. The board s purpose is to... 

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), established by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, is an independent federal agency with the mission of ensuring the safety of workers and the public by preventing or minimizing the effects of chemical incidents. They attempt to determine the root and contributing causes of chemical accidents. Their web site at http //www.csb.gov is a very useful source of brief and detailed accident reports. 

William R. Rhyne received a B.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee and M.S. and D.Sc. degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia. Dr. Rhyne is currently an independent consultant and earlier cofounded H R Technical Associates, Inc., where he remains a member of the board of directors. He has extensive experience in risk and safety analyses associated with nuclear and chemical processes and with the transport of hazardous nuclear materials and chemicals. From 1984 to 1987, he was the project manager and principal investigator for a probabilistic accident analysis of transporting obsolete chemical munitions. Dr. Rhyne has authored or coauthored numerous publications and reports in nuclear and chemical safety and risk analysis areas and is author of the book Hazardous Materials Transportation Risk Analysis Quantitative Approaches for Truck and Train. He is a former member of the NRC Transportation Research Board Hazardous Materials Committee, the Society for Risk Assessment, the American Nuclear... 

The mission of this independent federal agency is to investigate accidents at plant sites and determine root causes. The Board has found that the root-cause deficiencies are often within safety management systems, but can be ary factor that would have prevented the accident. Some other causes involve equipment failures, human errors, unforeseen chemical reactions or other hazards. 

To quote the CSB s website.- The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the agency s board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate [4] . 

After a serious industrial plant accident or incident in the United States, a thorough investigation is conducted by an independent government agency, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), to determine the root cause of the incident, assess responsibility, and suggest safety improvements. The subsequent accident report is made available on an Internet site www.chemsafety.gov. 

The investigative powers of major accidents passed from the ICC to the FRA and ultimately to the independent National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Railroads are required to inform the NTSB of serious accidents within two hours. NTSB is allowed to examine all physical evidence, and the NTSB inquiry takes precedence over all other investigations. 

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