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OSHA’s website On October 19, 2007, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a new safety and health instruction that details OSHA policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that handle combustible dusts and that may have a potential for a dust explosion.
OSHA has introduced a National Emphasis Program focusing on fire and explosive hazards that may exist at facilities where combustible dust accumulates. Combustible dusts can be either organic or metal dusts that are finely ground into very small particles, fibers, chips, and/or flakes. These dusts can come from metal, wood, plastic, and organic materials such as grain, flour, sugar, paper, soap, and dried blood. These dusts can also come from textile materials. Some of the industries in which combustible dusts are particularly prevalent include agriculture, chemical, textile, forests, and the furniture industry.
The instruction gives detailed information on OSHA’s inspection scheduling, resource allocation, inspection resources and procedures. The instruction is available electronically on OSHA’s website.