U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA announces rulemaking on combustible dust hazards

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is initiating a
comprehensive rulemaking on combustible dust.

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

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 Feb. 7, 2008, at
an Imperial Sugar Co. plant in Georgia and three workers who were burned in
April 2009 in an Illinois pet food plant dust explosion.

"Over the years, combustible dust explosions have caused many deaths and
devastating injuries that could have been prevented," said 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."

Combustible dusts are solids finely 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 dusts include metal (aluminum and
magnesium), wood, plastic or rubber, coal, flour, sugar and paper, among
others.

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

More information about combustible dust is available at
http://www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are
responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers.
OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and
women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach and
education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process
improvement in workplace safety and health. The agency's Web site is
http://www.osha.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Labor

Diana Petterson of the U.S. Department of Labor, +1-202-693-1898