InterviewProgress made on dust explosions - CSB

02 April 2008 22:06  [Source: ICIS news]

By Joseph Chang

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has received a response from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on its earlier recommendations on preventing deadly dust explosions, the new head of the CSB said on Wednesday.

“Congress is certainly urging OSHA to move ahead on our recommendations, and we just received a letter from OSHA,” said John Bresland, chairman of the CSB, in an interview with ICIS news.

“We are evaluating this response, but it appears they’re moving ahead and looking at the issue of dust explosions," he said.

Dust explosions have been particularly destructive, Bresland said. “We found in a study completed in 2006 that, in the past 15 years, there had been about 280 dust explosions that killed around 120 people and caused extensive damage.”

The CSB published the report in 2006 and made recommendations to OSHA to create standards for explosive dust safety. However, no action was taken.

In February 2008, there was a large combustible dust explosion at the Imperial Sugar company in Savannah, Georgia, that killed 12 people and injured 60.

The CSB’s investigation into the Imperial Sugar explosion is ongoing and could take a year, Bresland said.

In March, Representative George Miller (Democrat, California), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, introduced a bill that would force OSHA to implement nationwide precautions against explosive dust hazards.

He charged that OSHA has failed to voluntarily implement recommendations made by the Chemical Safety Board in 2006.

“We hope OSHA will follow up on our recommendations,” Bresland said.

By: Joseph Chang
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