Combustible Dust
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Category archives for Combustible Dust
Labor Dept reveals plan for worker health and safety regulations
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on December 21, 2010 By the end of 2011, the Labor Department’s worker safety agencies expect to issue six new rules to better protect workers from on-the-job hazards. In the Department’s regulatory plan issued yesterday, OSHA projects it will finalize four rules while MSHA expects to complete two new standards. As I’ve written before, these plans quickly become stale…
MSHA issues emergency rule to prevent coal dust explosions
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on September 21, 2010 MSHA announced today that it will be issuing on September 23 an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to improve a practice to prevent coal dust explosions. The rule addresses “rock dusting”—-the decades old practice of generously applying pulverized limestone dust throughout a coal mine to dilute the potential power of a coal dust explosion. As NIOSH’s…
Perplexed by OSHA’s latest reg agenda
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on May 15, 2010 Beginning in December 2006, I’ve written five blog post commenting on the content of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulatory agenda for worker health and safety rulemakings. Most of my posts [see links below] have criticized the Labor Secretary and senior OSHA and MSHA staff for failing to offer a bold vision for progressive worker…
Labor Secretary announces regulatory priorities for worker health and safety
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on May 15, 2010 Last week Labor Secretary Solis released in the Federal Register on April 26, 2010, her Spring 2010 regulatory agenda for the Department, including her rulemaking priorities for MSHA and OSHA. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act it was published on time in April, in contrast to her Fall 2009 agenda which was six weeks…
Posted by by Ken Ward, Jr., cross-posted from Sustained Outrage: a Gazette Watchdog Blog During a public hearing last night in Georgia, the federal Chemical Safety Board tried to answer critics who complained the board had backed off its strong recommendation that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) write new rules to protect workers nationwide…
WTOC in Savannah, GA is reporting that Georgia’s Senators, Republicans Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, are calling on OSHA to issue a regulation to protect workers from the dangers related to combustible dust. WTOC says that the Senators were brief today by officials of the Chemical Safety Board on the causes of the Feb. 7, 2008, explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery that…
by Ken Ward, Jr., cross-posted from Sustained Outrage: a Gazette Watchdog Blog The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is scheduled to release the findings of its investigation into the terrible explosion that killed 14 workers at a Georgia sugar refinery in February 2008. It’s another big test for the CSB, which has been under fire recently. …
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis signed off on her first semi-annual agenda of regulations, which was published in the Federal Register on Monday, May 11. She writes: “This document sets forth the Department’s semiannual agenda of regulations that have been selected for review or development during the coming year. The Department’s agencies have carefully assessed their…
WSAV News in Savannah, Georgia reports today that Mr. Malcolm Frazier, 47, succumbed to the severe burns he sustained in the February explosion of combustible dust at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, GA. WSAV reports: After a long courageous battle, Malcolm Frazier, 47, succumbed to his burn injuries and passed away in the Joseph M.…