House Democrats reintroduce combustible dust legislation

Washington – Democrats in the House have reintroduced legislation that would require OSHA to issue an interim standard on combustible dust hazards.

Members of Congress have been pushing for a combustible dust standard since the February 2008 Imperial Sugar Co. explosion that killed 13 workers in Georgia. Although OSHA has been working on a standard to control dust since shortly after that disaster, an additional four years could pass before the standard is issued, according to Democrat leaders in the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

The Worker Protection Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act (H.R. 691) would provide protections sooner by requiring an interim standard to be issued within a year of the bill’s enactment. A similar bill passed out of the then-Democrat-controlled House in 2008, but has since stalled.