Resources for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Congress considers tougher safety rules for dust hazards

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Last month's deadly explosion at a Georgia sugar refinery is playing a key role in a congressional push for better safety rules on dust hazards that could affect thousands of manufacturing facilities nationwide, safety board officials said Wednesday.

Chemical Safety Board officials said the Imperial Sugar Co. blast most likely occurred when snow-like piles of sugar dust ignited, setting off a series of explosions throughout the plant Feb. 7 that killed 12 people and injured 11.

"What we've learned in my community since this disaster hit us is that the experts in the field have known about this problem for decades," Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., told members of the House Education and Labor Committee at Wednesday's hearing. "So, here we are again, and once again the cry goes up to fix this problem that's been around for so long. Only this time we're not going to forget about what happened and we're not going to stop until we do what we can to cut down this risk as much as possible."

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