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OSHA announces rulemaking regarding combustible dust

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is employing a comprehensive rulemaking to address combustible dust.

OSHA will issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and assemble related stakeholder meetings to evaluate possible regulatory methods, as well as request data and comments regarding issues related to combustible dust, such as hazard recognition, assessment and communication.

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.

Since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions. These include 14 people who were killed in a dust explosion at an Imperial Sugar Co. plant in Port Wentworth, Ga., Feb. 7, 2008, and three workers who were burned in a dust explosion at a pet food plant in Galva, Ill., in April 2009.

"During the years, combustible dust explosions have caused many deaths and devastating injuries that could have been prevented," says U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "OSHA is reinvigorating the regulatory process to ensure workers receive the protection they need while also ensuring that employers have the tools needed to make their workplaces safer."

In 2006, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recommended that OSHA issue a combustible dust standard. OSHA received additional support from CSB for a combustible dust standard during a congressional hearing in 2008 when CSB said a new standard, combined with enforcement and education, could save workers' lives.

For more information about combustible dust, click here.

5/3/2009  

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