NEWS - Manufacturing

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Oct. 21 edition of the Federal Register as an initial step in development of a standard to address the hazards of combustible dust.

“It’s time for workers to stop dying in preventable combustible dust explosions,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Workplace safety is not a slogan. It’s a priority clearly embodied by our laws.”

In February 2008, 14 workers lost their lives in a combustible dust explosion at Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth. Since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions, according to acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab.

Support for a combustible dust standard came from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in 2006 and again in 2008 during a congressional hearing when the board said a new standard, combined with enforcement and education, could ave workers’ lives.

Combustible dust 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 likely to combust include metal (aluminum and magnesium), wood, plastic, rubber, coal, flour, sugar and paper.

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