The U.S. Chemical Safety Board says it will investigate the cause of the oil spill disaster using the same investigators who examined BP's safety practices after the 2005 explosion that killed 15 people at the company's Texas City, Texas, refinery.

"All of us share your hope that every possible lesson will be learned from this accident so that nothing similar ever occurs again," CSB Chairman John Bresland says in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The letter was dated Friday but didn't come to light until today.

"The investigation should include an examination of key technical factors, the safety cultures involved, and the effectiveness of relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards," Bresland writes.

The CSB is a quasi-independent, jumping into chemical accident cases in much the same way the National Transportation Safety Board can intervene after plane crashes.

The full letter is here as a PDF file.