The following is a press release from the US Chemical Safety Board:

CSB Announces Panel Participants for April 23 Public Meeting on 2008 Bayer CropScience Accident in Institute, West Virginia

Washington, DC, April 17, 2009 – The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) announced today the panel of outside witnesses who will be speaking at the April 23, 2009, public meeting in Institute, West Virginia. At the meeting the Board will be releasing preliminary findings into its investigation of the August 28, 2008, chemical processing tank explosion at Bayer CropScience which fatally injured two workers.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm at the West Virginia State University Wilson Building in Multipurpose Room 103. Following the presentation from the investigation team, the board members will hear testimony from the following individuals:

Nick Crosby – Vice President, Institute Site Operations, Bayer CropScience

Dennis Hendershot – Chemical Process Safety Expert

Sterling Lewis – West Virginia State Fire Marshal

Maya Nye – People Concerned About MIC

Dale Petry – Director of Emergency Services, Kanawha County Commission

Michael J. Flynn – Director, Occupational Safety and Health and Apprenticeship,
International Association of Machinists (IAM)

‘The CSB appreciates the participation of all of the panel members and we look forward to learning from their perspectives. We anticipate a very informative meeting,’ said CSB Chairman John Bresland.

At the public meeting the CSB investigation team will present their preliminary findings. The Board will ask questions of the team, hear the testimony of the panel participants, and facilitate comments from members of the public.

The meeting is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but to assure adequate seating attendees are encouraged to pre-register by emailing their names and affiliations to bayer@csb.gov.