Dangerous Chemical Accidents Rose 51% In US 2021-25; Number Of Deaths Rose From 60 To 89 In Same Period

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With the Trump administration poised to roll back rules intended to protect workers and communities from catastrophic industrial chemical releases, and a new analysis showing rising rates of chemical accidents, (Ed. - physicist Ronald) Koopman’s presentation on highly hazardous materials has taken on a new urgency. The number of accidents involving releases of dangerous chemicals rose by 57 percent between 2021 and 2025, from 83 to 131, according to an analysis released Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit that works with former government officials.

Injuries or deaths from accidents also rose, from 60 to 89 over the same five-year period, the analysis found. Incident reports released by the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), an independent agency that investigates chemical accidents, show that more than 650 accidents occurred between April 2020 and May 2026, with 103 resulting in fatalities, 355 causing injuries and 314 doing “substantial property damage.” Close to 150 million people live within 3 miles of these facilities. Historically underserved and overburdened populations, including people who identify as Black and Latino, are at greatest risk of exposure to an accidental release.

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The 1980s HF (Ed. - hydrofluoric acid) experiments were run by Koopman, who now runs Hazard Analysis Consulting, on behalf of the oil company Amoco (later acquired by BP) to understand how the highly toxic refinery chemical would behave in a spill. The test was a “spectacular success” in demonstrating what could happen and how serious the problem might be, Koopman said at the air district meeting. When they released 1,000 gallons of the noxious chemical, they expected it to pool on the ground and emit a small quantity of gas. Instead, a billowing “ground-hugging” mist formed, allowing the deadly gas to travel miles downwind, considerably farther than anyone thought possible.

Years later, after a series of fiery explosions at a hydrofluoric-acid unit at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery rocked the surrounding South Philadelphia neighborhood in 2019, Koopman told NPR, “it’s just unconscionable” to allow people to live so close to these refineries. The accident released more than 5,000 pounds of the chemical. The neighboring mostly Black and brown South Philadelphia neighborhood was spared thanks to “favorable wind conditions,” the CSB said.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30062026/hazardous-chemical-accidents-rise-as-safety-rules-weaken/