labor lawAdivision of labor law center

OSHA is once again addressing regulations on combustible dust hazards in the workplace.

 

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that OSHA will issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on this controversial topic. The new regulations will address issues such as:

• Defining combustible dust
• Hazard recognition
• Assessment
• Communication 

OSHA has asked employers, unions, workers and other interested parties to weigh in with their thoughts on the new regulations and related enforcement methods.

 

Tragically, a number of workplace deaths have resulted from combustible dust explosions in the past few years. An explosion at an Imperial Sugar Co. plant explosion in Port Wentworth, Georgia killed 14 workers in February, 2008. OSHA levied $9 million in fines against the owners.

 

In April 2009, 3 workers lost their lives in an explosion at a Wells Pet Food factory  in tiny Monmouth, Illinois. Again, combustible dust was the culprit.

 

OSHA reports that 130 employees have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions between 1980 and 2008. 

 

According to Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, “Over the years, combustible dust explosions have caused many deaths and devastating injuries that could have been prevented.”

 

Most employers do not think of sugar or pet food as explosives. However, a wide range of common industry ingredients post a risk of explosion when the fine dust is released. Dusts that pose a hazard include metals like aluminum and magnesium. Wood, plastic, rubber, coal, flour, sugar and paper can also be fatal.

 

. “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,” said an official.

 

Since 2006, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has identified combustible dust as a workplace hazard. Combustible dust results when products that are most commonly found as solids are ground into very fine particles, chunks, chips, or flakes that can explode under certain conditions.  

 

After the Port Wentworth, Georgia explosion, there was public outcry that OSHA was not doing enough to protect employees from this hazard. OSHA officials argued that they had fined the company for violations since 1988, but the protests fell on deaf ears.

 

 

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