Chemical accidents involving dangerous industrial releases rose 57 percent between 2021 and 2025, jumping from 83 incidents to 131, according to an analysis released Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit that works with former government officials.
Injuries and deaths from those accidents also climbed over the same period, rising from 60 to 89. Incident reports from the Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates chemical accidents, show that more than 650 accidents occurred between April 2020 and May 2026. Of those, 103 resulted in fatalities, 355 caused injuries, and 314 caused substantial property damage.
The findings come as the Trump administration is moving to roll back rules designed to protect workers and communities from catastrophic industrial chemical releases. The combination of rising accident rates and proposed regulatory weakening has drawn renewed attention to facilities that handle some of the most dangerous substances in industrial use.
One chemical drawing particular concern is hydrofluoric acid, also known as hydrogen fluoride or HF. It is used to manufacture refrigerants, gasoline, fluorine-based pesticides, and fluoropolymers such as those used to make Teflon. It is also considered one of the most corrosive and dangerous chemicals known.
Physicist Ronald Koopman conducted experiments with hydrofluoric acid in the 1980s that warned of the potential for deadly accidents at facilities handling hazardous materials. He appeared at a Southern California Air District meeting in 2018 to discuss acid dispersion and water mitigation testing. With the current regulatory climate, his earlier work has taken on new relevance.
Close to 150 million people live within three miles of facilities that handle these chemicals. The analysis notes that historically underserved and overburdened populations, including people who identify as Black and Latino, face the greatest risk of exposure from an accidental release.
The age of existing infrastructure adds to the concern. Many refineries were built before 1985. "With each passing year the risk gets greater because the infrastructure continues to age," said Jeff Ruch, senior counsel at PEER.
The Chemical Safety Board continues to investigate individual incidents, but its reports document a pattern of damage and loss that spans more than six years of industrial accidents across the country.
