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OSHA schedules informal stakeholder meetings regarding combustible dust

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has scheduled two informal stakeholder meetings to solicit comments and suggestions regarding combustible dust hazards in the workplace. OSHA will use the suggestions when developing a proposed standard for combustible dust. The meetings will be Feb. 17 at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Marriott Perimeter Center in Atlanta.

Since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions. On Feb. 7, 2008, an explosion at an Imperial Sugar Co. plant in Port Wentworth, Ga., killed 14 people, causing OSHA to issue nearly $8.8 million in penalties. OSHA is holding the meeting in Atlanta to make it easy for victims' families and others with relevant information about the explosion to attend.

"Fourteen people were killed in a combustible dust explosion that was preventable," says David Michaels, OSHA's assistant secretary of labor. "The deaths need to stop. Information gathered from these meetings will help OSHA move ahead on this urgently needed standard and prevent more deaths from combustible dust explosions."

Combustible dusts are solids ground into fine particles, fibers, chips, chunks or flakes that can cause a fire or explosion when suspended in air under certain conditions. Types of dust include metal (aluminum and magnesium), wood, plastic or rubber, coal, flour, sugar and paper, among others.

Those interested in attending the meetings must register by submitting a notice of intent to participate by Feb. 3. Notices can be submitted electronically at www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/osha/register-osha-stakeholder.htm. Submissions also can be faxed to (781) 674-2906 with the label "Attention: OSHA Combustible Dust Stakeholder Meeting Registration" or mailed to ERG Inc., 110 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02421, Attention: OSHA Combustible Dust Stakeholder Meeting Registration.

For more information about combustible dust, visit www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html.

To read Professional Roofing's October 2009 Safe Solutions column, "Combustible dust: a rare but deadly hazard," click here.

1/29/2010

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