CSB Safety Video: Anatomy of a Disaster

Anatomy of a Disaster tells the story of one of the worst industrial accidents in recent U.S. history--the March 23, 2005, explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, which killed 15 workers, injured 180 others, and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency, investigated the accident. The CSB produced this video in March 2008 based on its comprehensive 341-page public report issued in 2007.

The video includes a nine-minute animation detailing the events leading up to the blast. It features interviews with members of the CSB investigative team who spent two years studying the causes of the accident. Outside safety experts Prof. Trevor Kletz (Texas A&M University and Loughborough University, UK), Prof. Andrew Hopkins (Australian National University), and Mr. Glenn Erwin (United Steelworkers) provide insightful commentary on the significance of the accident to the world's petrochemical industry.

The CSB believes that an understanding of the key findings, recommendations, and lessons from this investigation will help prevent future accidents. To learn more about this and other CSB investigations, please visit CSB.gov.