Statement of John S. Bresland

Nominated by President Bush to be a Board Member of the

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

before the

Committee on Environment and Public Works

United States Senate

Washington, DC

July 18, 2002

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the Committee.

My name is John Bresland. I am honored to appear before you to tell you about my background and what I would hope to accomplish if confirmed as a member of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

But first, if I may, I would like to introduce my wife, Beth. She is an Oncology Social Worker at Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey. We have two married daughters and four grandchildren.

Let me also say that I am very grateful for the support of Senator Jon Corzine and Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen from my home state of New Jersey.

My reasons for being honored by this nomination are both personal and professional. I was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. My education in chemistry took place in Northern Ireland and in England. I came to the United States 36 years ago. I have spent all of those years working in the chemical industry. I became a United States citizen in a ceremony at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1983. Both the United States and the chemical industry have been good to me and they have allowed me to live in freedom and comfort.

After many years of experience in business, I have the desire to get involved in public service and return some of the benefits that I have received over the years. I am fully committed to the public-service mission of the Chemical Safety Board: to prevent accidents, save lives, and protect the environment by conducting investigations and advocating safety recommendations.

In 1966 I joined the Allied Chemical Company (now Honeywell International) in West Virginia. I continued to work for Honeywell until 2000. During that time I worked in chemical plants in West Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Hopewell, Virginia. My last five years with Honeywell were spent at their corporate headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey.

My experience in the chemical industry has been, I believe, broad-based.

• It includes chemicals manufacturing -- I have been an operations manager and plant manager in complex facilities.
• It includes management -- I was responsible for the operation of a facility with 300 employees, both union and non-union.
• I’m experienced in health, safety and environmental compliance. I have been responsible for chemical plants’ compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations.
• I have extensive experience in community outreach. I’ve run community advisory panels for Honeywell, made a point of personally visiting plant neighbors and listening to their concerns, and I was Chairman of the American Chemistry Council’s national plant manager and community leader training program.
• And finally, with regard to chemical process safety: When I retired from Honeywell I formed my own consulting company, specializing in the areas of compliance with the OSHA Process Safety Management Program and the EPA Risk Management Program. I also work as a Staff Consultant with the Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Currently I am helping to develop chemical process safety books, including one on reactive chemicals management – which, as you may know, is the subject of a major ongoing investigation at the CSB.

Mr. Chairman, I believe that my experience would blend with the solid professional experience and dedication of the current Board members and that of the nominee for Chair, Carolyn Merritt.

I would hope to contribute toward consensus on the agency’s mission and activities. In my view, the priorities of the Board over the next five years should be as follows:

1. First and foremost, increase the numbers of accident investigations.
2. Next, step up the work the Board is already doing to be an advocate for the implementation of CSB safety recommendations by industry and government. This means continuing to work in a cost effective manner with the Board’s stakeholders—including people who live around chemical facilities, the chemical process industry and its trade organizations, labor unions, members of Congress and Congressional staffs, and last but not least EPA and OSHA.
3. I believe that Board members and the Chief Operating Officer must manage the agency in a sound and prudent manner. If confirmed, I would be committed to developing a close and effective working relationship with the new Chair, other board members and staff.
4. Mr. Chairman, in today’s world of concern about terrorism, I would hope that the agency could explore, with your committee, ways to use the expertise of the Chemical Safety Board to improve homeland security with regard to chemical facilities.
5. The goal of these priority actions, of course, will be an improvement in chemical plant process safety—saving lives and protecting the environment. If, at the end of my five-year term, I could point to success in those areas, I believe that my time in Washington will have been well spent.

6. I am looking forward to the challenges that face me with humility and enthusiasm. If you honor me with confirmation, I look forward to working with you and your staffs.

Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you. I would be pleased to answer any questions.