Industrial Fire Prevention

From Occupational Health & Safety Combustible Dust Standard Drawing Closer? OSHA intends to establish a SBREFA panel in October 2016 as it works to develop a comprehensive combustible dust standard for general industry. Jun 06, 2016 OSHA's website lists 15 of its standards that have some bearing on employers' responsibility for controlling potential accumulations of combustible dusts to prevent catastrophic explosions, not including the all-important General Duty Clause the agency can use in enforcement cases. But there is a document on the reginfo.gov website of OIRA, the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, that indicates OSHA is moving a small step closer to issuing a standard specifically about combustible dust hazards: an indication that OSHA intends to establish a SBREFA panel in October 2016. A is a gatekeeper agency: It reviews federal agencies' proposed and final regulations before they become effective, and some rules...

From Risk Factors blog and WestField Insurance, here is a good overview of the current state of the OSHA Combustible Dust Standard, with related links. February 16, 2011 Risk Factors: Combustible Dust Standards Update Background/History Combustible dust has become a much more visible hazard in the past few years as the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) in 2008 communicated that they were proposing a new standard on combustible dust . They also set in play a new directive for their staff to step up their inspections of plants that produce combustible dust, and began forcing companies to control the risk of explosion/fire (and related health concerns) through the execution of the general duty clause using best practice industry consensus standards (mostly National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards). The concern was that in the past couple decades, multiple industries experienced dust explosions that resulted in the loss of life/injuries and m...