WASHINGTON, March 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has posted a new Combustible Dust Safety and Health Topics Web page at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html to help employers address hazardous combustible dust and provide recommendations to prevent and control these hazards.
"Fires and explosions resulting from combustible dust can pose a significant danger at the workplace," said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "This new safety and health topics page is part of a long-term, ongoing program in OSHA to address these hazards and assure safe and healthful working conditions."
Certain combustible substances, when divided into a dust-like form and suspended in air, can become explosive. Industries that have combustible dust include food (for example, candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour and feed), grain, tobacco, plastics, wood, paper, pulp, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal, metals (for example, aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium and zinc) and fossil fuel power generation. Combustible dust may have been a cause of an explosion at a Georgia sugar refinery plant. An OSHA Safety and Health Information Bulletin at http://www.osha.gov/dts/shib/shib073105.html reminds employers of the dangers associated with combustible dust and encourages employers to address such hazards at their worksites. OSHA has in place many relevant standards to address combustible dust hazards - including requirements for hazard communication, housekeeping, emergency action plans, ventilation and hazardous locations.
The Web page also features a link to the National Emphasis Program on Combustible Dust (http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&;p_id=3729) that provides information on compliance with existing standards, an understanding of the hazard, and methods of abatement and collection of data for analysis. The new page also incorporates information on directives as well as OSHA and national census standards.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/.
U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit http://www.dol.gov/compliance.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
