Chemical Accidents Are Rising in the U.S. — What Victims Need to Know About Their Legal Rights
Serious chemical accidents rose 57% between 2021 and 2025. Federal safety rules are being rolled back. If you or your community was affected, here is what you need to know about your legal rights.
If it feels like you are hearing about more chemical plant explosions, toxic spills, and industrial disasters in the news, that is because you are. The data confirms what affected communities across the country already know: serious chemical accidents are increasing, they are getting more deadly, and the federal government is moving in the wrong direction on safety.
For individuals and families affected by chemical accidents, understanding your legal rights is essential. Here is what the latest data shows, what is driving the increase, and what options are available to victims.
The Numbers: A 57% Increase in Five Years
According to an analysis by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility using data from the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, the number of serious industrial chemical accidents in the United States rose 57% between 2021 and 2025, from 83 incidents to 131. Accidents involving injuries or deaths rose from 60 to 89 over the same period.
The death toll is accelerating. Chemical accidents killed 48 people in 2025, almost double the number killed in 2024. Serious injuries jumped from 73 to 89 incidents resulting in casualties over the same five-year period.
More than 650 chemical accidents occurred between April 2020 and May 2026, resulting in 103 fatalities, 355 incidents causing injuries, and 314 causing substantial property damage. Approximately 150 million Americans live within three miles of a high-risk chemical facility.
These numbers are almost certainly undercounts. The Chemical Safety Board only requires facilities to report incidents within four hours of occurrence and does not require updates as investigations progress. Incidents that result in shelter-in-place orders or evacuations without a direct chemical release are not required to be reported at all. The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, which tracks news reports, counts roughly twice as many incidents as the CSB over the same period.
Why Are Chemical Accidents Increasing?
Aging infrastructure
Most refineries currently operating in the United States were built before 1985. As the American industrial base ages, the risk of equipment failures, pipeline corrosion, and system breakdowns increases. Equipment failure accounts for more than 62% of reported chemical accidents, according to EPA data.
Regulatory rollbacks
In 2024, the Biden administration finalized new rules under the EPA's Risk Management Program designed to reduce chemical accident risk. These included requirements for third-party audits after serious incidents, analysis of safer technology alternatives, worker participation in accident prevention planning, and emergency preparedness for climate-related disasters such as flooding.
The Trump administration is now proposing to permanently shelve these rules, arguing they are burdensome. It has also sought to eliminate the $14 million annual budget for the Chemical Safety Board entirely. Environmental and worker safety organizations have sharply criticized these rollbacks, noting that chemical accidents continue to happen at facilities both covered and not covered by existing regulations at least once a week.
Gaps in regulatory coverage
Not all dangerous chemicals are subject to EPA Risk Management Program rules. Many toxic and reactive chemical combinations are not on the regulated list, meaning facilities using them face only basic safety requirements and are not subject to the rigorous accident prevention planning required for regulated chemicals. This gap was highlighted in recent incidents involving white liquor in Washington and methyl methacrylate in California, neither of which fell under RMP rules.
Who Is at Greatest Risk?
Historically underserved communities, including communities with higher proportions of Black and Latino residents, face disproportionate risk of exposure to chemical accidents. Studies show that accidents with offsite impacts can lower home values within a several-mile radius by 2-3%, an effect that persists for more than 15 years. The economic harm to affected communities is estimated at tens of billions of dollars.
Connecticut communities are not immune. The PFAS contamination affecting Vermont and New England, the Nippon Dynawave chemical exposure incident in Washington, and ongoing industrial pollution claims all reflect a national pattern. Our firm is currently investigating chemical exposure claims on behalf of affected residents.
What Legal Options Are Available to Chemical Accident Victims?
Victims of chemical accidents and toxic exposures may have significant legal claims, even when the incident appears to involve regulatory violations rather than obviously intentional conduct. Key legal theories include:
- Negligence — chemical facilities have a duty to safely store, handle, and dispose of hazardous substances. Failure to maintain aging equipment, conduct adequate safety inspections, or follow industry standards is actionable negligence.
- Strict liability for ultrahazardous activities — the handling of inherently dangerous chemicals is treated as an ultrahazardous activity under the law, meaning a company can be held liable for damages even without proof of negligence in some circumstances.
- Failure to warn — facilities that knew or should have known of risks to surrounding communities and failed to provide adequate warning may face separate liability.
- Multiple defendants — chemical accidents rarely have a single responsible party. Equipment manufacturers, maintenance contractors, parent companies, and operators may all share liability. Identifying every potentially responsible party is critical to full compensation.
- Regulatory violations as evidence — EPA citations, OSHA violations, and prior accident histories are powerful evidence in civil litigation. The Nippon Dynawave facility, for example, had a documented history of prior safety violations and complaints before its most recent incident.
Health effects from chemical exposure may not be immediately apparent. Respiratory illness, neurological damage, cancer, and reproductive harm can develop months or years after exposure. Connecticut's statute of limitations for personal injury is generally two years from the date of discovery of the injury, not the date of the accident itself. This means that even if the incident occurred in the past, you may still have a viable claim if you have recently been diagnosed with a related condition.
What the Recent Incidents Tell Us
The pattern across recent high-profile chemical accidents is consistent: aging or inadequately maintained equipment, gaps in regulatory oversight, prior safety complaints that were not acted on, and communities left to deal with health and property consequences for years afterward.
The Garden Grove, California incident in May 2026 involved a chemical that is not subject to EPA Risk Management Program rules. The Nippon Dynawave incident in Washington involved a facility with prior state safety violations and a worker safety complaint filed just weeks before the accident. The East Palestine, Ohio derailment in 2023 continues to affect the surrounding community's health and property values years later.
In each case, civil litigation has been or is expected to be a critical mechanism for holding responsible parties accountable and compensating affected individuals and families.
Contact Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC
Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC represents individuals, families, and communities affected by toxic chemical exposure and mass industrial disasters. We investigate the full scope of responsible parties, identify all available sources of compensation, and handle these cases on a contingency basis. Visit our mass disasters practice area or contact us for a free, confidential case evaluation.
Call: (860) 589-8000 — available 24/7
No fee unless we win.
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