House Committee Approves Bill to Address Deadly Dust Explosions

by via Mike Hall, AFL-CIO

Thu, Apr 10, 2008 8:26AM

Thursday, April 10, 2008 : Memorial to the 13 workers killed in the Imperial Sugar Co. blast. Sugar dust, like other industrial dusts, is extremely combustible, but despite the urging of safety experts, the Bush administration's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has yet to set a federal standard to control combustible dust levels.

Today, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee approved a bill to force OSHA to issue combustible dust rules. Says committee chairman Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.):

It’s unfortunate that OSHA didn’t heed warnings from 2006 about the dangers of combustible dusts, but it’s downright stunning that OSHA still has no sense of urgency in dealing with these deadly hazards, even after the Imperial Sugar tragedy. Unlike OSHA, this Congress is not complacent about the safety of American workers.

The legislation follows the deadly Feb. 7 explosion at Imperial Sugar’s Port Wentworth, Ga., plant. Sugar dust had built to a level that when an as yet unidentified source sparked the combustible sugar dust, the blast was so powerful it killed 13 workers, injured dozens more and caused extensive damage to the plant.

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For more information: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/04/09/house-co...

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