Resources for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Foulke: Companies Prone to Dust Hazards to be Investigated

www.occupationalhazards.com

TWhile visiting the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga., where an explosion killed 12 workers and injured 11 others, OSHA Administrator Edwin Foulke announced March 3 that the agency will inspect hundreds of companies where combustible dust is a workplace hazard.

Foulke was in town to assess the progress made by inspectors from OSHA, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) and Imperial Sugar. Preliminary reports point to combustible sugar dust as the culprit of the explosion, but it is still unclear what caused the dust to ignite.

Foulke told the Associated Press that OSHA has not completed its investigation of that explosion but is sending letters to 30,000 companies that deal with combustible dust to discuss the dangers.

He also said that more work needs to be done to determine whether existing standards on ventilation and factory housekeeping can be used to address existing concerns, as well as to devise a standard that is applicable to different industries with different types of dust.

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