John Astad's List: Combustible Dust OSHA Rulemaking

• Since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions.

  • More misinformation. The CSB reported fatalities and injuires from dust explosions and fires. Not solely explosions. Fire are precursors to explosions
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• Rich Christianson

  • Good article Rich
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• nvestigators determined that a furniture panel got jammed in a UV finishing line, creating a spark that ignited a fire and triggered an explosion of the dust collection system

  • First dust explosion for 2009
    
    http://dustexplosions.blogspot.com/2009/01/indiana-dust-explosion-nations-first.html
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• defining combustible dust

  • Defining combustible dust? The National Academy of Science defined dust over two decades ago in preparation for the OSHA Grain Facility Standard.
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• According to the OSHA, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions since 1980.

  • OSHA did not state the correct facts in the press release. The injuries and fatalities occurred in combustible dust related fires and explosions. Not solely explosions. The fires are being ignored, which are precursors to eventual explosions
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• Over the years, combustible dust explosions have caused many deaths and devastating injuries that could have been prevented.

  • Cannot be totally prevented unless the manufacturing sector is shut down. The probability and severity can be minimized through adminstrative controls and best engineering practices as outlined in the NFPA combustible dust standards.
    
    There are additional layers of protection not mentioned in the NFPA standards that needs to be addressed during the OSHA rukemaking period
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• The WMMA formed the Industrial Dust Task Force to monitor both OSHA and Congress activity on a potential combustible dust standard.

  • This is great that the WMMA has formed a task force concerniing the OSHA ComDust rulemaking
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• JULIA Gillard’s

  • Federal Member for Lalor - member of the Australian Labor Party.

  • Deputy Prime Minister; Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; Minister for Education; Minister for Social Inclusion.
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• WA Treasurer Troy Buswell

  • politician from Western Australia and is currently the Liberal member for the Legislative Assembly seat of Vasse. He was Liberal leader and leader of the opposition for several months in 2008.
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• ould make workplace safety the next industrial relations battlefield,
• judge Murray Wilcox

  • In his speech, Wilcox claimed that Australia was becoming an 'elected dictatorship' as a result of a concentration of power in Canberra and the position of Prime Minister of Australia at the hand of John Howard.[3]
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• forcing WA to make pro-union concessions and cede political authority to the majority of Labor states.
• national occupational health and safety system
• the disparate state systems and conflicting legal processes impose needless costs on businesses trying to manage workforces and promote a culture of safety across the nation’s work sites.
• Business Council of Australia
• Council of Australian Governments

  • Organisation consisting of the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Government Association.
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• linchpin” of COAG’s push for a seamless national business economy.
• Buswell also explicitly reserved WA’s rights to withdraw from the national scheme.
• ational plan moves workplace safety away from Australia’s adversarial industrial relations traditions, bound up in the definitions, rights and obligations of employees v employers.
• oposed national system would remove both the right of unions to launch prosecutions and reverse the onus of proof on employers.
• objected to a number of other provisions, such as allowing worker health and safety representatives to call a halt to work, to give unions the right to enter the workplace on safety grounds and to allow industrial relations tribunals to conciliate on health and safety disputes.

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• in December 1977, alone, 59 deaths and 49 injuries resulted from five grain elevator explosions
• February 15, 1980, OSHA published a request for comments and information and notice of public meetings, concerning the safety and health hazards in grain handling facilities (
• otice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) on grain handling facilities
• January 6, 1984.
• April 17, 1984, OSHA published a notice announcing: the scheduling of public hearings to receive testimony on all aspects of the proposed grain handling facilities standard;
• HA Grain Handling Facilities Final Rule was published December 31, 1987
• SIC 0723: Crop Preparation Services for Marke

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• 37 visits to Florida companies in the last 16 months.

  • Only 37?
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• Prevention of combustible dust includes more intense housekeeping, a review of hot work processes, evaluation of electrical equipment, and prohibition of smoking or flames in dust laden areas, said OSHA Regional Administrator Cindy Coe in a statement.

  • What about best engineering practices?
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• Dust fires and explosions are significant dangers in the workplace when combined with other factors.

  • ComDust related fires are the precursors to eventual explosions
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• Nationally, 3,662 violations have been identified during 813 inspections.

  • what about State OSHA Plan States that are not required to adopt the OSHA Dust NEP?
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• Countries -- China, India, Russia, Brazil -- are no different. They understand the value of making things and selling them to others, the contribution competitive manufacturing makes to stability, economic growth and innovation.
• But she was short -- indeed, silent in her opening remarks -- on tax, regulatory and other government-assessed burdens weighing on business, partly explaining why the Big Mitten has lost so many of the jobs she rightly lamented.

• Since 1980, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 injured in combustible dust explosions

  • Incorrect statement. Fatalities occurred in combustible dust related fires and explosions. Not solely explosions.
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• CEO of Imperial Sugar recommends elements of OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) in addressing combustible dust deflagration hazards. - John Astad on 2009-06-15

• Spark detection and flame suppression systems are an important element in minimizing the probability of combustible dust related fires at a manufacturing facility. - John Astad on 2009-06-15

• Susan Harwood OSHA Training Grant recipient. Great training and it's free. Your tax dollars at work. - John Astad on 2009-06-15

• Best engineering practices as outlined in the NFPA combustible dust standards would of prevented OSHA citations for combustible dust at this facility - John Astad on 2009-06-15

• Provides manufacturing facilities with efficient solutions in removing combustible dust from overhead surfaces. - John Astad on 2009-06-15

• OSHA does not recognize paper dust in the Dust NEP. Yet the magnitude of this incident is of the magnitude of several prior combustible dust explosions here in the USA where there was huge loss of life. - John Astad on 2009-06-15