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SBA and DoW Establish Smaller War Plants Commission in Historic Effort to Strengthen Defense Industrial Base Capacity
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on Aug. 25, 2026:
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SBA and DoW Establish Smaller War Plants Commission in Historic Effort to Strengthen Defense Industrial Base Capacity
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of War (DoW) announced a historic initiative to expand American military capacity, capability, and resilience by establishing the Smaller War Plants Commission (SWPC). Created through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Commission will marshal federal resources to expand production
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- The Small Business Administration issued the following news release on Aug. 25, 2026:
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SBA and DoW Establish Smaller War Plants Commission in Historic Effort to Strengthen Defense Industrial Base Capacity
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of War (DoW) announced a historic initiative to expand American military capacity, capability, and resilience by establishing the Smaller War Plants Commission (SWPC). Created through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Commission will marshal federal resources to expand productioncapacity, eliminate burdensome regulations, accelerate innovation, and provide targeted capital and support to small business suppliers. Together, the agencies are putting the full weight of the federal government behind the small businesses that comprise more than 70% of the defense industrial base -- ensuring the manufacturers, suppliers, and innovators that support our warfighters have the resources to build, grow, and keep America's military the strongest in the world.
"Since our nation's earliest days, American battle readiness has run through small businesses -- from the local factories to the labs that forge the Arsenal of Freedom. But over the last fifty years, foolish trade deals and globalist policies shipped American jobs and manufacturing power overseas -- eroding the domestic productive capacity that underpins American military might and surrendering our critical supply chains to China," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "Under President Donald J. Trump, the Smaller War Plants Commission will end the era of dependence by putting the full weight of the federal government behind the small businesses that power our defense industrial base. This historic partnership with the Department of War will help small firms expand, innovate, and hire to deliver world-class, Made in America capabilities to our warfighters. With the strong leadership of Secretary Pete Hegseth, the most lethal fighting force in the world will be backed by the world's most nimble industrial base -- offering our warfighters an asymmetric advantage, and our nation peace through strength."
"The American military is already the strongest fighting force the world has ever known. President Trump has made clear that we will keep it that way -- not by accepting a hollowed-out industrial base, but by building an arsenal that can outproduce, out-innovate, and outlast any adversary," said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. "The Smaller War Plants Commission marks a historic commitment by this Administration to put the full weight of the federal government behind the small businesses powering America's Arsenal of Freedom. We are restoring the industrial dominance that made the United States the decisive force of the twentieth century and applying it to the threats of this century. By marshaling capital, private investment, and contracting opportunities behind the companies that build the ships, munitions, electronics, components, and capabilities our warfighters rely on, we will supercharge the industrial strength that underwrites our military advantage."
The Smaller War Plants Commission draws its name from the Smaller War Plants Corporation, a World War II-era SBA predecessor that was formed to build the defense industrial base by helping small businesses secure financing, government contracts, and technical assistance for essential military production. Its credit and contract authorities ultimately flowed through successor agencies and the Small Defense Plants Administration before being transferred to the SBA in 1953.
The newly established Smaller War Plants Commission serves as the federal government's central coordinating body to expand the defense industrial base by investing in small suppliers. The Commission will develop a comprehensive inventory of small business production capacity for the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network (CRMN). Both agencies will work to identify and eliminate costly or complex regulations that impede small manufacturers and deploy support to clear operational bottlenecks.
The SBA will work to strengthen access to capital and other federal support for small businesses across the defense industrial base. Consistent with applicable law and program requirements, the agencies will prioritize defense-critical NAICS sectors and industrial focus areas for enhanced access to SBA lending, capital-investment, contracting, and technical-assistance tools. This effort will support capacity in critical areas including munitions and their components, drones and one-way attack systems, microelectronics, strategic and critical minerals, shipbuilding and repair components, sensors, batteries, castings and forgings, and textiles.
Eligible small manufacturers will also be able to access SBA's Made in America Loan Guarantee through the International Trade Loan program, which provides a 90% federal guarantee--compared with the standard 75% guarantee in SBA's flagship 7(a) program--to help finance equipment, facility modernization, inventory, acquisitions, and domestic capacity expansion.
Under the framework, the agencies will:
* Mobilize strategic capital and market access: Pair enhanced SBA loan guaranties -- up to 90 percent where authorized -- with targeted investment and contracting opportunities for priority manufacturers, helping them finance expansion, secure demand, and scale critical domestic capacity.
* Map the industrial base: Use the Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network to identify the manufacturers, production capabilities, and supply-chain gaps most vital to national defense.
* Cut red tape: Deploy joint teams to identify and remove the regulatory and operational barriers that delay production, limit growth, and keep small manufacturers from delivering for America's warfighters.
* Hold Washington accountable: Deliver regular reports to President Trump on industrial strength, supply-chain readiness, federal investment, and progress toward rebuilding the Arsenal of Freedom.
This joint effort ensures taxpayer dollars directly bolster the domestic defense supply base, driving long-term resilience and securing American military readiness for generations to come.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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Original text here: https://legacy.sba.gov/article/2026/08/25/sba-dow-establish-smaller-war-plants-commission-historic-effort-strengthen-defense-industrial-base
Postal Service IG: Idaho-Montana-Oregon District: Delivery Operations in the Eugene, OR, Area
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit reoprt (No. 26-103) on August 18, 2026, entitled "Idaho-Montana-Oregon District: Delivery Operations in the Eugene, OR, Area."
Here are excerpts:
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During the week of June 22, 2026, we performed a self-initiated audit at the Eugene Local Processing Center (LPC) and three delivery units serviced by the facility. The delivery units included the River Road Station, Roseburg Main Post Office, and Southside Station.
We issued individual reports for the three delivery units and the LPC. We will
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit reoprt (No. 26-103) on August 18, 2026, entitled "Idaho-Montana-Oregon District: Delivery Operations in the Eugene, OR, Area."
Here are excerpts:
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During the week of June 22, 2026, we performed a self-initiated audit at the Eugene Local Processing Center (LPC) and three delivery units serviced by the facility. The delivery units included the River Road Station, Roseburg Main Post Office, and Southside Station.
We issued individual reports for the three delivery units and the LPC. We willalso issue another report summarizing the results of our audits of all three delivery units with specific recommendations for management.
The audit team identified deficiencies in six areas we reviewed at the delivery units affecting mail delivery and property conditions. In addition, the audit team identified unattempted delivery of advertisement mailpieces at the River Road Station.
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View the original text at: https://www.uspsoig.gov/reports/audit-reports/idaho-montana-oregon-district-delivery-operations-eugene-or-area
Postal Service IG: Evaluation of Contract Delivery Services
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 25-136-R26) on August 18, 2026, entitled "Evaluation of Contract Delivery Services."
Here are excerpts:
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Background
Contract Delivery Service (CDS) is a contractual agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and an individual or company for the delivery and collection of mail to and from homes and businesses. CDS routes, operated by suppliers or their employees, were established to provide a cost-effective and efficient solution for the Postal Service, especially in rural areas.
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 25-136-R26) on August 18, 2026, entitled "Evaluation of Contract Delivery Services."
Here are excerpts:
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Background
Contract Delivery Service (CDS) is a contractual agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and an individual or company for the delivery and collection of mail to and from homes and businesses. CDS routes, operated by suppliers or their employees, were established to provide a cost-effective and efficient solution for the Postal Service, especially in rural areas.In fiscal year (FY) 2025, the Postal Service had more than 8,273 active CDS contracts, which cost approximately $593 million. Poor management of CDS suppliers can lead to inefficiencies, higher costs, and greater risks of mail loss, damage, or theft, and accidents and injuries due to inadequate enforcement of safety and security measures.
What We Did
Our objective was to evaluate the management, efficiency, and safety of CDS. For this audit, we reviewed CDS operations at ten delivery units nationwide. Additionally, we conducted a random confidential survey of 213 administrative officials (AO) responsible for managing CDS operations.
What We Found
We identified challenges with the management and execution of CDS impacting mail security, carrier safety, and operational efficiency. Specifically, some CDS mail carriers lacked security clearances, while others engaged in unsafe driving practices and there were no requirements for accident reporting. Further, certain carriers did not possess required English language skills to effectively communicate with Postal Service staff and customers. We also found that local management of CDS operations could be improved and identified $1.9 million in incorrect extra trip payments made annually to suppliers in FYs 2024 and 2025, which resulted from using incorrect rates. Finally, headquarters management's limited oversight and dependence on manual processes restricted visibility into local operations and minimized performance accountability.
Recommendations and Management's Comments
We made four recommendations to address issues regarding safety and security deficiencies. Additionally, we made six recommendations to streamline and improve oversight of CDS operations. Postal Service management agreed with all 10 recommendations. Management's comments and our evaluation are at the end of each finding and recommendation. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) considers management's comments responsive to all recommendations except for recommendations 4 and 5, which we consider partially responsive. For the others, the corrective actions should resolve the issues identified in the report.
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View the original text at: https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2026-08/25-136-r26.pdf
Postal Service IG: Assessment of Postal Inspection Service's Participation in Immigration Operations
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 26-083-R26) on August 19, 2026, entitled "Assessment of Postal Inspection Service's Participation in Immigration Operations."
Here are excerpts:
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Background
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement, crime prevention, and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service. Its mission is to support and protect the Postal Service and its employees, infrastructure, and customers. As the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States, the Postal Inspection Service
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSLrpt) -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 26-083-R26) on August 19, 2026, entitled "Assessment of Postal Inspection Service's Participation in Immigration Operations."
Here are excerpts:
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Background
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement, crime prevention, and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service. Its mission is to support and protect the Postal Service and its employees, infrastructure, and customers. As the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States, the Postal Inspection Serviceenforces over 200 federal statutes and routinely collaborates with other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies on criminal investigations.
On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) received a congressional request to assess the Postal Inspection Service's potential resource diversions to immigration enforcement activities and its impact on the agency's ability to investigate white-collar crime.
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View the original text at: https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2026-08/26-083-r26.pdf
Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA's Deep Space Network
PASADENA, California, Aug. 26 -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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New Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA's Deep Space Network
Deep Space Station 23 at NASA's Goldstone facility in the California desert is the latest next-generation antenna to be added by the network's enhancement project.
NASA's Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna to the agency's deep space communications and navigation system. The network uses giant dish antennas located at three global facilities
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PASADENA, California, Aug. 26 -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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New Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA's Deep Space Network
Deep Space Station 23 at NASA's Goldstone facility in the California desert is the latest next-generation antenna to be added by the network's enhancement project.
NASA's Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna to the agency's deep space communications and navigation system. The network uses giant dish antennas located at three global facilitiesto support more than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space.
The new Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23) is located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow, and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
NASA leadership and personnel as well as dignitaries gathered at the complete DSS-23 antenna for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. It's the latest to be added as part of the Deep Space Network's Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 2009 to upgrade and expand the network by adding six new 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antennas. These versatile dishes can enhance many missions operating over different radio frequencies.
"By expanding the Deep Space Network, we are strengthening the communications foundation NASA needs for the bold missions ahead -- from exploring more of the Moon than ever before to peering deeper into the solar system," said James Kenyon, associate administrator of the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This new antenna will help us deliver on our national goals for space exploration and push beyond the limits of what once seemed impossible."
After completing a testing campaign from May through July to demonstrate its capabilities, the new DSS-23 began operations on Aug. 3, tracking NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Since then, it has been communicating with dozens of missions such as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Psyche, Juno, Voyager 1, and other robotic spacecraft in deep space.
"The addition of this next-generation antenna brings us closer to a completely modernized network that embraces advanced technology to ensure NASA's leadership in deep space communications," said Dave Gallagher, director of JPL. "After over 60 years of continuous operations supporting consequential missions, these upgrades prime the network for a new era of exploration. The teams that designed, planned, and built DSS-23 should be proud."
Enhanced capabilities
Construction of DSS-23 began in February 2020. After the 133-ton metal reflector framework was placed and bolted atop the antenna's pedestal in December 2024, engineers installed the panels to the framework that reflect radio frequency signals transmitted to and received from spacecraft. Then came the careful process of calibrating the antenna so it can work in concert with the rest of the network.
It is the fifth antenna at Goldstone (joining three 34-meter antennas and one 70-meter, or 230-foot, antenna) and the fifth enhancement project antenna to join the network, which includes antennas at the DSN's Goldstone, Madrid, and Canberra, Australia, complexes. Multifrequency beam waveguide antennas direct signals down to a stable, climate-controlled underground room, rather than housing heavy, sensitive electronic equipment on the moving antenna dish. In addition to offering versatility, this design allows easy access for maintenance and upgrades to the system.
"The biggest challenge wasn't actually constructing the antenna. It was transforming a complex collection of mechanical, electrical, software, radio frequency, and infrastructure systems into a single, mission-ready asset," said Germaine Aziz, manager of the Deep Space Network Aperture Enhancement Project at JPL. "Every subsystem must be integrated, calibrated, and verified to operate with extraordinary precision and reliability before it can support NASA's deep space missions."
The enhancement project will be complete when a sixth enhancement-project antenna, Deep Space Station 33, comes online at the Canberra facility in 2029, bringing the total number of 34-meter antennas across the network to 13. The 34-meter antennas can be arrayed (combined and operated together) to provide an equivalent communications backup for each facility's single 70-meter antenna, which, after more than 50 years of near-continuous operation, are getting increasingly costly to maintain and repair.
Managed by Caltech for NASA, JPL manages the agency's Deep Space Network with the oversight of NASA's SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program within NASA's Research and Technology Mission Directorate. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on the Deep Space Network and Near Space Network. They include missions that support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitoring Earth, exploring the Moon, and exploring the solar system and beyond.
For more information about the Deep Space Network, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/new-next-gen-dish-adds-muscle-to-nasas-deep-space-network/
Expansive Survey of Bisa Butler's Celebrated Quilts To Open at Smithsonian American Art Museum March 2027
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSxrep) -- The Smithsonian Institution issued the following news release:
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Expansive Survey of Bisa Butler's Celebrated Quilts To Open at Smithsonian American Art Museum March 2027
"Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" Traces Artist's Creative Practice Across Three Decades
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Bisa Butler is a singular voice among a cadre of contemporary artists who engage figural representation to examine the beauty and complexity of Black experience. Marking the largest survey to date of the artist's large-scale quilts, "Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" explores Butler's distinctive, multifaceted
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (TNSxrep) -- The Smithsonian Institution issued the following news release:
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Expansive Survey of Bisa Butler's Celebrated Quilts To Open at Smithsonian American Art Museum March 2027
"Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" Traces Artist's Creative Practice Across Three Decades
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Bisa Butler is a singular voice among a cadre of contemporary artists who engage figural representation to examine the beauty and complexity of Black experience. Marking the largest survey to date of the artist's large-scale quilts, "Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" explores Butler's distinctive, multifacetedpractice. Her body of work draws largely on historical research into archival photographs of Black Americans and other African diasporic people, which she transforms into her own brightly colored interpretations, using carefully selected and shaped textiles with vibrant colors, lush textures and symbolic patterns. Through culturally significant fabric choices and technical prowess, Butler creates deeply empathetic portrayals of both unnamed subjects and well-known figures such as Harriet Tubman, Octavia Butler and Salt-N-Pepa.
"Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" will be on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Friday, March 19, 2027, through Sunday, Aug. 22, 2027. This mid-career survey, the result of five years of planning and research into Butler's practice, brings together three decades of Butler's work, from a 1995 self-portrait made while studying painting at Howard University to her most recent work, a self-portrait completed in 2026. Organized thematically, the exhibition features nearly 40 quilts by Butler, presented alongside works by her artistic influences and predecessors such as Romare Bearden, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar and others, drawn from Smithsonian collections.
"Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" is co-curated by Dalila Scruggs, the museum's Augusta Savage Curator of African American Art, and Liz Andrews, executive director of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, in close collaboration with the artist and with support from Maria R. Eipert, curatorial assistant. The exhibition will travel following its presentation in Washington, D.C.; specific venues will be announced once they are confirmed.
"As home to one of the most significant collections of works by American artists in the world, and African American artists in particular, the Smithsonian American Art Museum is uniquely positioned to uplift Bisa Butler's work within a lineage of American artistic innovation," said Jane Carpenter-Rock, the acting Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. "We look forward to inviting communities in Washington, D.C., and beyond into our galleries to experience the power of these artworks and the universal human stories they convey."
"Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" frames Butler's quilts as large-scale commemorations that affirm Black joy, self-determination and solidarity. In contrast to traditional monuments made of stone or bronze, Butler's quilts use thread and fabric to memorialize stories of resilience and possibility for Black Americans, Africans and people across the African diaspora.
"Butler tenders, or makes a formal offering to her audience, of a wide array of materials--silk, velvet, sequins, fur and lace," Scruggs said. "These deeply layered works also imbue a tenderness toward her subjects, rendering human emotion into a tactile, sensory experience for viewers."
"Bisa Butler's vibrant, loving portraits monumentalize Black subjects, histories and possibilities," Andrews said.
The exhibition will feature an in-gallery fabric touch station, bringing viewers even closer to Butler's rich materiality and offering a tactile, sensory entry point into the artist's practice. Videos and audio stops will offer additional insights into Butler's process and further illuminate the stories of the individuals she honors in her quilts.
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About Bisa Butler
Born in New Jersey to an African American mother and a Ghanian father, Butler earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts in painting at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she began incorporating textiles into her practice. She holds a master's degree in teaching art from Montclair State University in New Jersey and taught art in Newark Public schools for over a decade. Her work has been exhibited widely in the United States and internationally. In 2020, the Katonah Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago co-organized her first institutional solo exhibition. Butler's work can be found in the collections of numerous museums, including the Brooklyn Museum; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture; and the Smithsonian American Art Museum among others. Butler lives and works in Orange, New Jersey.
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Publication
A major catalog with new scholarship, co-published by the museum and Smithsonian Books, is forthcoming. It is edited by Andrews and Scruggs with a foreword by Carpenter-Rock and includes an interview with the artist and contributions by Robin Givhan, Lisa Farrington, Carolyn L. Mazloomi, John Jacob, Phoebe Hillemann, Joanne Hyppolite, Rhea L. Combs, Brittany Webb and Robyn Simpson.
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Credit
"Bisa Butler: Tender Monuments" is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Major support is provided by Henry Luce Foundation and Vlisco. Generous support is provided by Melissa Clark, Harris Family Fund, Eric G. Johnson and Holly Gaines Johnson, Pamela Royall and the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation. Additional support is provided by William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund; Jeffrey Deitch, New York and Los Angeles; Amy Sabrin and Evans Witt. This project received financial support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. This exhibition received support from the Fisher Arts Impact Fund.
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About the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is the flagship museum in the United States for American art and craft. It is home to one of the most significant collections of American art in the world. The museum's main building, located at Eighth and G streets N.W., is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum's Renwick Gallery, a branch museum dedicated to contemporary craft, is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W. and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Check online for current hours and admission information. Admission is free. Follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Website: americanart.si.edu.
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Original text here: https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/expansive-survey-bisa-butlers-celebrated-quilts-open-smithsonian-american-art
CSB Releases Foundation Food Group Safety Video
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release on Aug. 25, 2026:
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CSB Releases Foundation Food Group Safety Video
U.S. Chemical Safety Board Releases New Safety Video on the Fatal 2021 Liquid Nitrogen Release at the Foundation Food Group Plant in Gainesville, Georgia, that Killed Six People
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Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a new safety video on its investigation into the deadly January 28, 2021, liquid nitrogen release at the Foundation Food Group (FFG) poultry processing plant in Gainesville, Georgia,
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 -- The U.S. Chemical Safety Board issued the following news release on Aug. 25, 2026:
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CSB Releases Foundation Food Group Safety Video
U.S. Chemical Safety Board Releases New Safety Video on the Fatal 2021 Liquid Nitrogen Release at the Foundation Food Group Plant in Gainesville, Georgia, that Killed Six People
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Today, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released a new safety video on its investigation into the deadly January 28, 2021, liquid nitrogen release at the Foundation Food Group (FFG) poultry processing plant in Gainesville, Georgia,that killed six people and seriously injured three others.
The release occurred when the bubbler tube which measured and controlled the level of liquid nitrogen in an immersion freezer at the facility was bent, causing an abnormally large amount of liquid nitrogen to be pumped into the freezer, which exceeded the freezer's capacity. The excess liquid nitrogen overflowed out of the freezer and then vaporized, forming a deadly vapor cloud inside the poorly ventilated freezer room. Two people who were in the room at the time of the release died from asphyxiation, and four additional workers also were asphyxiated and died when they entered the freezer room during the incident.
The CSB's new safety video, titled "Fatal Fog: Liquid Nitrogen Release at Foundation Food Group," includes an animation of the events leading to the incident, and commentary from CSB Board Member Sylvia Johnson, Investigator-In-Charge Drew Sahli, and Investigators Tyler Nelson and Bill Steiner.
In the video Board Member Johnson states, "Liquid nitrogen and other chemical asphyxiation incidents are preventable. Management must clearly communicate to workers hazards and emergency response measures. Safety management systems for operations that use liquid nitrogen and other asphyxiants must be improved. Doing so can prevent another tragedy like the one that occurred at Foundation Food Group."
The incident at FFG occurred on a production line that produces marinated, diced, fully cooked chicken that was then frozen using a liquid nitrogen "immersion spiral" freezer. The freezer was leased to FFG by Messer LLC (Messer), an industrial gas products company. Messer installed the freezer approximately five weeks prior to the incident, and during that time FFG experienced a series of operational problems with the equipment. Messer returned to FFG on multiple occasions to troubleshoot the issues, but the problems persisted.
On January 28, 2026, FFG halted chicken production on the line so that maintenance personnel could work on the freezer. The freezer remained on, however. At some point, the freezer's bubbler tube was bent above the overflow level of the freezer, which caused the freezer's nitrogen level control system to believe that the freezer was empty. As a result, the system continued to add liquid nitrogen to the freezer, so much that the freezer overflowed.
Once the liquid nitrogen was released, it quickly vaporized and filled the freezer room with a white fog-like cloud that persisted for more than an hour. When an FFG employee observed the two maintenance workers lying motionless on the floor of the freezer, an evacuation was initiated. During the evacuation, at least 14 other FFG employees, including members of management, responded to the incident by either investigating the freezer room or attempting to rescue their coworkers. The two maintenance workers were fatally injured by asphyxiation due to the vaporized liquid nitrogen, and four other FFG employees were fatally injured as they attempted to respond to the incident. Three other FFG employees were seriously injured.
As in the CSB's final report on the incident, the safety video covers five key safety issues that contributed to the incident: 1) single point of failure, 2) atmospheric monitoring and alarm systems, 3) emergency preparedness, 4) process safety management systems, and 5) product stewardship. In particular, as the video notes, the CSB found that FFG did not have an atmospheric monitoring and alarm system that could have alerted workers to the deadly conditions in the freezer room. FFG also did not have an effective plan for dealing with a hazardous liquid nitrogen release and did not train its employees about how to safely respond to such a release.
The video also highlights safety recommendations made by the CSB to OSHA. The recommendations to OSHA were among the 12 total recommendations made by the CSB to several entities, including OSHA, Messer, Gold Creek Foods (the current owner of the FFG facility), the Compressed Gas Association, the National Fire Protection Association, and the International Code Council.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating incidents and hazards that result, or may result, in the catastrophic release of extremely hazardous substances. The agency's core mission activities include conducting incident investigations; formulating preventive or mitigative recommendations based on investigation findings and advocating for their implementation; issuing reports containing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations arising from incident investigations; and conducting studies on chemical hazards.
The agency's board members are appointed by the president subject to Senate confirmation. The Board does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.
Please visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen at Hillary.Cohen@csb.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.csb.gov/csb-releases-foundation-food-group-safety-video/
