In January 2021, after a nitrogen leak at a poultry plant in Georgia killed 6 workers and injured scores more, federal investigators arrived at the scene.

The team, from a small federal agency called the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, traced the fatal leak to a freezer part that had been bent out of shape. A series of recommendations to improve safety followed.

Now, the White House is planning to eliminate the agency, allocating $0 for its budget starting in 2026. Even industry groups are opposed.

The board has a reputation for working collaboratively with companies, said Shakeel H. Kadri, executive director of the Center for Chemical Process Safety, an industry-funded organization that works on safety issues, adding that it also doesn’t penalize companies or issue new regulations.

“It has a unique mandate to do independent investigations,” Mr. Kadri said, that’s invaluable particularly at small- and medium-sized companies, where a lot of chemical accidents tend to happen but also where companies have fewer resources to investigate root causes themselves. The board’s findings are also used in other countries and in academia, he said.

The plan to dissolve the safety board is another blow to workplace safety at a time President Trump has already moved to make cuts at other federal agencies that protect workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates working conditions in America, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, dedicated to research to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses, have faced steep cutbacks.