Resources to Protect Workers and Communities from Combustible Dust Hazards

Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a revised Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP). The original Combustible Dust NEP, issued in 2007, followed a number of combustible dust incidents that resulted in fatalities, serious injuries and property destruction.

The purpose of the revised NEP is to continue OSHA inspections of facilities that generate or handle combustible dusts likely to cause fire, flash fire, deflagration, and explosion hazards. The agency reports the revisions introduce a new approach for locating and inspecting subject establishments.

Annually, OSHA conducts around 600 inspections per year looking for combustible dust hazards. In 2023, the agency announced proposed fines of over $300k for a company that experienced a combustible dust incident last April. That tragic case hospitalized three workers and caused significant property damage.

Combustible dust can burn rapidly, said Franco Seif, PE at Clark Seif Clark (CSC). If such a dust is suspended in air in the right concentration, and under certain conditions, it can become explosible. Even materials that do not burn in larger pieces, such as aluminum or iron – given the proper conditions, can be explosible in dust form.

The good news is there are ways to monitor indoor conditions and test for combustible dusts to prevent these incidents. The industrial hygiene, indoor air quality and safety professionals at CSC proudly offer combustible dust testing and consulting services. They also provide employee and manager training to implement dust control, ignition control, prevention, and protection measures to mitigate combustible dust dangers. These resources protect people, property, and help to keep businesses in compliance with health and safety regulations. CSC even recently sponsored an educational video about combustible dust hazards that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/FI8xWuQ3ukE

To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, environmental, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com, email [email protected] or call (800) 807-1118.

About Clark Seif Clark
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address indoor air quality, occupational, environmental, and health and safety (EH&S) issues. CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.