Resources for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

OSHA Reissues Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program

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OSHA reissued its Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) Instruction. The NEP will increase enforcement activities and focus on specific industry groups that have experienced frequent combustible dust incidents.

"Combustible dust fires or explosions can pose significant dangers in the workplace," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "With this new Combustible Dust NEP, the Agency will increase its activities in outreach, training, and cooperative ventures with stakeholders, as well as enhance its enforcement activities."

The purpose of this NEP is to inspect facilities that create or handle combustible dusts which can cause intense burning or other fire hazards when suspended in air, and can lead to explosions. Combustible dusts are finely ground organic or metal particles, fibers, fines, chips, chunks, flakes, or small mixtures of these materials. Types of dusts include, but are not limited to, metal (aluminum and magnesium), wood, plastic, biosolids, organic (sugar, paper, soap and dried blood), and dusts from certain textiles. Combustible dusts can be found in the agricultural, chemical, textile, forest and furniture products, wastewater treatment, metal processing, paper products, pharmaceutical, and recycling operations (metal, paper, and plastic) industries.

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