[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 64 (Thursday, April 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16260-16262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8182]


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CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD


Sunshine Act Meeting; Public Hearing: Kaltech Industries Group, 
Inc. Incident

AGENCY: Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

ACTION: Notice announcing Sunshine Act public hearing and requesting 
public comment and participation.

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SUMMARY: The CSB will hold a public hearing to examine findings and 
preliminary conclusions resulting from its investigation into a 
building fire explosion at Kaltech Industries Group, Inc., an 
architectural sign manufacturer located at 123 West 19th Street, New 
York City. The explosion that occurred April 26, 2002, injured 31 
people, including 14 persons who were not employed by Kaltech. This 
notice provides information regarding the CSB investigation into the 
chemical incident, a request for comments on specific issues raised by 
the investigation, and the date, time, location and agenda for the 
public hearing. At the end of the staff and panel presentations, the 
Board has also allocated time to take comments from the public.

DATES: The Public Hearing will be held on Wednesday April 16, 2003, 
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), 
7th Avenue at 27th Street, New York City, New York.
    Pre-Registration: The event is open to the public and there is no 
fee for attendance. However, attendees are strongly encouraged to pre-
register, to ensure adequate seating arrangements. If you would like to 
provide oral comments to the Board, please state your intention to do 
so when pre-registering. Time for public comments is limited. Speakers 
will be limited to approximately 4 minutes. Those unable to present 
oral testimony because of time restrictions are urged to file written 
comments. To pre-register, please e-mail

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your name and affiliation by April 11, 2003, to [email protected].
    Written Comments: The public is encouraged to submit written 
comments to the Chemical Safety Board. Individuals, organizations, 
businesses, or local, state or federal government agencies may submit 
written comments. Such comments must be filed on or before May 5, 2003. 
For further instructions on submitting comments, please see the ``Form 
and Availability of Comments'' section below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests to provide oral comments at 
the Public Hearing should be submitted to: Mr. Don Holmstrom, U.S. 
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, 2175 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20037. Alternatively, they may be e-mailed to to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Selk, Office of Investigations 
and Safety Programs, 202.261.7622.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Introduction
B. Background
C. Key Questions
D. Request for comments
E. Agenda
F. Sunshine Act Notice

A. Introduction

    The CSB is an independent federal agency established in 1998 with 
the mission to protect workers, the public, and the environment by 
investigating and preventing chemical accidents. The CSB determines the 
root causes of these accidents and makes safety recommendations to 
government agencies, companies, and other organizations.
    The CSB is nearing completion of its investigation into an incident 
on April 26, 2002, involving an explosion and fire that occurred in a 
10-story mixed use building in the Chelsea district in Manhattan, New 
York City. A public hearing will be held on April 16, 2003, at 9 a.m., 
at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), 7th Avenue at 27th 
Street, New York City, New York. CSB staff will present preliminary 
findings and conclusions from this investigation to the Board. Major 
issues involved in this investigation include hazard communication, 
hazardous waste handling, and municipal oversight. The hearing provides 
a forum for interested parties to provide input prior to CSB's 
formulation of final recommendations and issuance of a report. 
Interested parties will provide presentations to the Board, and at the 
conclusion of these formal presentations, there will be an opportunity 
for public comment.

B. Background

    On April 26, 2002, an explosion and fire occurred in a 10-story 
mixed-use commercial building in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, New 
York City. The structure was built in 1902. It was occupied by a 
variety of tenants, including commercial, professional service, and 
manufacturing firms. At the time of the incident, Kaltech Industries 
Group Inc. occupied the basement of the building and portions of the 
mezzanine and first floor. Kaltech had leased space in the building for 
about ten years. The incident originated in the basement space leased 
by Kaltech Industries Group Inc.
    Kaltech typically accumulated waste chemicals onsite and arranged 
for them to be picked up periodically by a hazardous waste disposal 
contractor. The day of the incident, Kaltech employees had just 
finished consolidating hazardous waste from smaller containers into two 
larger drums, when a violent chemical reaction started to take place in 
one of the 55-gallon drums. An explosion occurred seconds later. The 
highly confined environment of the basement offered limited pathways 
for the explosion to vent. The blast was partially relieved via the 
building's center hall stairway and the freight elevator. The explosion 
injured 31 people, including 14 persons who were not employed by 
Kaltech. Following the explosion, the New York City Building Department 
issued an order to vacate the building pending a structural evaluation. 
A few days later the structure was determined to be sound and tenants 
were permitted to return. Operations at Kaltech, however, remained 
suspended. The Fire Marshall retained control of Kaltech space while a 
hazardous environment remediation contractor analyzed and removed the 
chemicals and decontaminated the area.
    Because of the serious nature of this incident and the fact that a 
chemical reaction was probably involved, the U.S. Chemical Safety & 
Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) initiated an investigation to 
determine the root and contributing causes of the incident and to issue 
recommendations to help prevent similar occurrences.
    At the Public Hearing on April 16th, the CSB staff will present 
preliminary findings regarding causes of this incident. No factual 
analyses, conclusions or findings should be considered final.
    After the Hearing the Board will allow time for public comment. 
This comment period will close on May 5, 2003. Following the conclusion 
of the public comment period, the CSB will review and carefully 
consider all comments. The staff will then submit a final report on 
this incident for Board consideration, including specific 
recommendations targeted to prevent a similar accident like this from 
occurring elsewhere.
    The Board will carefully review the report from the staff and will 
vote either in open public session or in a notation memorandum to 
accept the report, its findings and recommendations. When a report and 
its recommendations are approved, this will begin CSB's process for 
disseminating the findings and recommendations of the report not only 
to the recipients of recommendations but also to other public and 
industry sectors. The CSB believes that this process will ultimately 
lead to the adoption of recommendations and the growing body of safety 
knowledge in the industry, which, in turn, should save future lives and 
property.

C. Key Questions

Questions for Panel Presenters

    (1) How does the New York City Fire Prevention Code function to 
control the handling of incompatible materials such as nitric acid and 
flammable liquids? What are the requirements of the Code's permitting 
provisions, and are they sufficient to prevent the mixing of 
incompatible materials?
    (2) In light of the Kaltech incident are there changes to the New 
York City Fire Prevention Code that would enhance the safe handling of 
hazardous materials such as nitric acid? If so, what areas should be 
addressed? In responding, consider the following topics:
    a. Hazardous material identification and labeling.
    b. Permitting requirements such as the submission of management 
plans and inventory statements.
    c. MSDS availability to the workforce.
    d. Worker training.
    e. The safe separation of incompatible materials in manufacturing 
facilities.
    (3) Do model fire codes such as the International Code Council's 
International Fire Code and National Fire Protection Association's 
National Fire Code present a more comprehensive approach to hazardous 
materials management in these areas? Are there other cities or states 
that have adopted more effective hazardous material provisions in their 
fire code? How do the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire 
Prevention and Building Code Act affect the fire code obligations of 
New York City?
    (4) By what means do the New York City Fire Department and the 
Department of Environmental Protection

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exchange information concerning facilities' use and storage of 
hazardous materials? Are there ways in which they can communicate more 
effectively concerning hazardous material inventory and labeling 
requirements?
    Comments should address the questions listed above. CSB will accept 
verbal comments at the public hearing. Verbal comments must be limited 
to 4 minutes. Those wishing to make verbal comments should pre-register 
by April 11, 2003. To pre-register, send your name and a brief outline 
of your comments to the person listed in ADDRESSES.

D. Request for Comments

    The CSB requests that interested parties submit written comments on 
the above questions to facilitate greater understanding of the issues. 
Comments should indicate the number(s) of the specific question(s) 
being answered, provide responses to questions in numerical order, and 
use a separate page for each question answered. Comments should be 
captioned ``Kaltech Incident --Comments,'' and must be filed on or 
before May 5, 2003.
    Parties sending written comments should submit an original and two 
copies of each document. To enable prompt review and public access, 
paper submissions should include a version on diskette in PDF, ASCII, 
or Microsoft Word format. Diskettes should be labeled with the name of 
the party, and the name and version of the word processing program used 
to create the document. Alternatively, comments may be mailed to 
[email protected]. Written comments will be available for public 
inspection in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 
552, and CSB regulations.

E. Agenda (9 a.m.-1 p.m.)

I. CSB Introduction (1 hour)
II. New York City panel (1 hour)
III. Fire Safety Experts' panel (1hour)
IV. Comments from interested parties and the public (1 hour)

F. Sunshine Act Notice

    The United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board 
announces that it will convene a Public Hearing beginning on Wednesday 
April 16, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fashion Institute of 
Technology (SUNY), 7th Avenue at 27th Street, New York City, New York. 
Topics will include: CSB's investigation of the Kaltech Industries 
Group. The meeting will be open to the public. Please notify CSB if a 
translator or interpreter is needed, 10 business days prior to the 
public meeting. For more information, please contact the Chemical 
Safety and Hazard Investigation Board's Office of Congressional and 
Public Affairs, 202-261-7600, or visit our Web site at: www.csb.gov.

Christopher W. Warner,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-8182 Filed 3-31-03; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 6350-01-P