ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, United Stateson to note that “CBIRF is not a counterterrorist group, andit’s not direct-action oriented, though there is a securityelement of more than 120 Marines, with the capability toincrease that strength as needed.” In the words of a forceprotection element commander for CBIRF, “We are aconsequence management force. Our mission is to respond,to come in and save lives. We bring the full package:self-contained, expeditionary, and task-organized.”During the spring and early summer of 1996, CBIRFwas deployed for training in a variety of environmentsthroughout the United States. Its members closely studiedthe bombing that took place at Centennial Olympic Park inAtlanta on the night of July 27, and practiced coordinatinga response with local fire and police. They also undertookan experiment at the Citadel, a military college in Charleston,South Carolina, where CBIRF personnel acted to controllethal agents released by a mock chemical weaponsplant. Moving beyond training to real-world situations,CBIRF provided security for President Clinton’s secondinauguration in January 1997, and for the Summit of Eightin Denver, Colorado, that following summer.A changing role. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001,terrorist attacks on the United States, CBIRF’s missionbecame incorporated into the 4th MEB, along with theMarine Security Force Battalion, the Marine Security GuardBattalion, and the new anti-terrorism battalion. (The latterhad evolved from the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, whichhad been hit in the 1983 terrorist bombings of UnitedStates Marine barracks in Lebanon.) In December 2001,CBIRF sent a 100-member initial response team into theDirksen Senate Office Building alongside EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) specialists to detect and removeanthrax. A similar mission was undertaken at the LongworthHouse Office Building in October, during which time sampleswere collected from more than 200 office spaces.❚ FURTHER READING:PERIODICALS:Bone, Margaret. “Marines Provide Safety Net to TerroristThreat.” Leatherneck 82, no. 2 (February 1999): 50–53.Cabellon, Paul C. “CBIRF Takes the (Capitol) Hill.” Leatherneck85, no. 2 (February 2002): 19.Garamone, Jim. “Marines to Stand up Anti-Terror Brigade.”Pentagon Brief (October 2001): 5.Vogel, Steve. “Cooler Name Prevails for ‘Hot’ New MarineCorps Club at Indian Head.” Washington Post. (April 26,2001): T15.SEE ALSOChemical Safety: Emergency ResponsesChemical WarfareEncyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and SecurityChemical Safety and HazardInvestigation Board (USCSB),United States❚ CARYN E. NEUMANNThe United States Chemical Safety and Hazard InvestigationsBoard (USCSB) is a federal agency formed to identifythe causes of chemical accidents. Created in 1990 as partof an amendment to the Clean Air Act, the USCSB did notbegin functioning until it received funding in 1998. Althoughits purpose overlaps that of other federal agencies, notablythe Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), andthe National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), theUSCSB differs from these organizations in that it does nothave the power to make or enforce rules affecting theroutine day-to-day activities of businesses. Instead, theUSCSB makes a unique contribution to the protection ofworkers, the public, and the environment by investigatingchemical accidents in the country and attempting to preventfuture mishaps. The only regulations put into placeby the fact-finding agency involve the reporting of chemicalincidences.The establishment of the Washington, D.C.-basedUSCSB is a result of the belief that existing hazard investigationagencies, like OSHA, EPA, and NTSB, focus onviolations of existing rules while ignoring factors thatcontribute to a chemical accident, but which do not constitutea violation of existing rules and regulations. By creatingthis independent, scientific, investigatory agency andmodeling it after the NTSB, Congress hoped to producefuller accident reports that could then be used to formulatenew regulations and policies to prevent future dangerouschemical spills and explosions. The amended CleanAir Act of 1990 that gave birth to the USCSB directs theboard to investigate and report on the circumstances andthe probable causes of chemical incidents resulting in afatality, serious injury, or substantial property damages;recommend measures to reduce the likelihood or theconsequences of such accidents and propose correctivemeasures; and, lastly, to establish regulations for reportingaccidental releases. The board has no enforcementauthority, does not issue fines or penalties, and essentiallyplays a very limited regulatory role.Accidental releases of toxic and hazardous chemicalsoccur frequently and often have serious consequences.The USCSB is notified of every chemical release in thecountry and then decides which accidents to investigate. Itis required to coordinate its activities with OSHA, NTSB,and EPA, but when an accident involves transportation,NTSB is the lead agency. Board members, appointed bythe president to five-year renewable terms and confirmedby the Senate, are ultimately responsible for the conductof investigations and the content of accident reports.177