Remarks by U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd
Senate Environment and Public Works Services Committee
Confirmation Hearing for the Honorable Dr. Paul L. Hill
as the Chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Thursday, September 23, 1999
3:00 p.m., SD-406

Mr. Chairman, Senator Baucus, and Members of the Committee, I thank you for the opportunity to introduce to you this afternoon my constituent, the Honorable Dr. Paul L. Hill. Dr. Hill is the current Chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, and has recently been renominated by the President, with my support, to serve a second term as Chairman.

Dr. Hill holds a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville and Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Marshall University in West Virginia. Dr. Hill has dedicated twenty years of his career to chemical safety, regulation, and public policy. This includes seven years as President and CEO of the National Institute of Chemical Studies located in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia, which is also home to a thriving chemical industry on which the state and the world depend.

It is in this capacity that I am most familiar with Dr. Hill's abilities. The chemical industry is a critical component of the West Virginia economy. However, we all know that many chemicals are sensitive and volatile and that chemical accidents which pose significant threat to life and the environment can and do occur. When they do occur, public outcry for immediate remedy is often at odds with the viability of the business involved. Dr. Hill established his credibility within the field of chemical safety by working with government, industry, and the public to better manage chemical risks while still sustaining environmentally responsible economic growth in the industry. Thoughtful, studious, and effective, he has demonstrated calm and effective leadership not only in more mundane, day-to-day circumstances, but also in the highly charged emotional atmosphere that accompanies the real-life nightmare of a chemical accident.

In 1993, when the President began looking for candidates for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, I had no hesitation in bringing Dr. Hill's interest in serving on the Board to the Administration's attention. I was very pleased that the President and this Committee also recognized Dr. Hill's qualifications to lead this new independent agency. However, for the first three years of his five-year term as Chairman, delays in providing funds to initiate the Board's activities kept that body from serving its appointed role. 1 hope that my colleagues will look favorably on Dr. Hill's nomination to a second term as Chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

In his year and a half tenure, Dr. Hill has lead a Board which, while still in its infancy, has as its mission to ensure the safety of workers and the public by eliminating chemical accidents. To date, the Board has investigated 22 chemical accidents, and completed reports on three. The Board's initial research indicates that on average, 253 Americans die each year as a result of chemical accidents. Dr. Hill knows that this is unacceptable and that the success of his tenure will be measured by the Board's effectiveness in reducing chemical accidents by finding out their cause and helping to find solutions to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.

In West Virginia and other states across the country with a high concentration of chemical plants, the existence of this Board provides greater peace of mind both to the plant workers and to those families living near the highways and railways that transport the chemicals. Dr. Hill has proved that, through diligence, cooperation, and forward-thinking, dangerous situations can be avoided, and lives can be protected.

I am proud to introduce a man of Dr. Hill's caliber, and I hope that you will express confidence in his abilities to guide this worthy organization in its next five years by approving his renomination.

Thank you again for this opportunity.