Rafael Moure-Eraso

Rafael Moure-Eraso (born May 2, 1946) is a former chairman and chief executive of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

Rafael Moure-Eraso
Chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
In office
June 23, 2010 – March 26, 2015
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJohn S. Bresland
Succeeded byVanessa Allen Sutherland[1]
Personal details
Born
Rafael Moure-Eraso

(1946-05-02) May 2, 1946
Cali, Colombia
CitizenshipUnited States (since 1985)
Spouse(s)Laura Punnett
Alma materUniversity of Pittsburgh
Bucknell University
University of Cincinnati

Early life

Moure-Eraso was born in Cali, Colombia, in 1946. He grew up in Bogotá where he was educated by Augustinian friars and at the University of Los Andes.[2]

Education

He received his B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967 and M.Sc. in chemical engineering from Bucknell University in 1970. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in Environmental Health-Industrial Hygiene in 1974 and 1982.[3]

Career

For over 30 years, Moure-Eraso has been involved in workplace safety issues.[4] Prior to joining the CSB Moure-Eraso served as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Health (NACOSH) for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).[5] Moure-Eraso has also worked as a chemical engineer for Rohm and Haas and the Dow Chemical Company.[6] He was a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell for 22 years and chairman of the university's Department of Work Environment for 5 years.[7] He has also served as an industrial hygienist engineer with the national offices of the United Automobile Workers union and the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union.[8]

Chemical Safety Board

Moure-Eraso was nominated by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in March 2010 and confirmed by the Senate in June 2010.[4]

In March 2015, he was called to testify in front of the House Oversight Committee regarding the management of the Chemical Safety Board. Following that testimony fourteen members of the committee issued a letter to the White House calling on the president to use his statutory authority to remove Moure-Eraso from his position as chairman of the CSB. The letter cited a pattern of retaliation against whistleblowers, disenfranchisement of fellow board members, low morale in the organization, and possible violations of the Federal Records Act by using personal email accounts for official business.[9]

Moure-Eraso told the Los Angeles Times: "A lot of it is political. The mission of the organization is to produce good reports that make a difference for safety. We are doing that. I can show that we are producing the best reports ever produced in the agency. I stand by that. All of this other talk is peripheral... There have been a lot of accusations, but none of those have ever ended in any findings. The Office of Special Counsel has made no recommendations. Anybody can claim actions against whistleblowers, but there’s no evidence of this. To just say it is not enough. What I would like to be judged for is the quality of the product and the fulfillment of our mission. There will always be people complaining. But they are all rumors."[10] He resigned his post on March 26, 2015.[11]

Further reading
  • Moure-Eraso, Rafael (January 28, 2014). "The Next Accident Awaits". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

References
  1. Clark, Charles S. (May 22, 2018). "Chemical Safety Board Chair Resigns Unexpectedly". Government Executive. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  2. "In the Aftermath of Chemical Accidents". Bucknell University. Pittsburgh. 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  3. "Chair of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board: Who is Rafael Moure-Eraso?". AllGov.com. November 25, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  4. Walter, Laura (July 2, 2010). "Moure-Eraso Confirmed as New CSB Chairman". EHS Today. Cleveland. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  5. "Rafael Moure-Eraso". University of Massachusetts Lowell. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  6. Johnson, Jeff (March 9, 2015). "Chemical Safety Board Chairman Is Leaving". Chemical & Engineering News. American Chemical Society. 93 (10): 31–33.
  7. Bravender, Robin (June 20, 2014). "CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD:'The agency is broken. It needs to be rebuilt'". Environment & Energy Publishing. Washington, D.C. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  8. Sackowitz, Karen (April 15, 2010). "Obama taps UMass prof for work-safety board". The Boston Globe. Boston. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  9. "House Oversight Committee Members Call On President Obama to Remove Chemical Safety Board Chairman and Top Staff". Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. March 19, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  10. Hsu, Tiffany (March 16, 2015). "Q&A: Chemical Safety Board chair on the Torrance refinery explosion". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  11. "Under Pressure, Chemical Safety Head Resigns". Government Executive. March 26, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
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