"President Trump’s proposed budget eliminates funding for the Chemical Safety Board, the agency investigating last month’s deadly chemical leak in Kanawha County."

"After a chemical leak at the Ames Goldsmith plant in Kanawha County killed two workers and injured dozens more last month, federal investigators quickly arrived in West Virginia to begin piecing together what went wrong.

Now, the federal agency tasked with determining the root cause of the accident could be eliminated. 

President Trump is proposing to cut funding for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, a small federal agency that probes chemical disasters and pushes for safety fixes. 

Worker advocates and former CSB members warn dismantling the agency could leave states like West Virginia — with long histories of deadly industrial chemical incidents — more vulnerable to future disasters."

Tre Spencer reports for the Mountain State Spotlight May 30th, 2026. [2]