New guidance for OSHA inspectors about combustible dust

An ongoing concern about OSHA’s protection of workers is its slow pace in creating or updating needed standards. A prime example is combustible dust, which keeps appearing on the agency’s regulatory agenda, but has yet to be finalized.

In the absence of coherent, comprehensive standards, OSHA piecemeals its guidance, the latest example of which deals with the identification of materials that pose combustible dust hazards.

In a recent memo, OSHA addresses situations in which manufacturers and importers lack direct experience with the combustible dust hazards of products they are shipping. OSHA advises the manufacturers and importers to use laboratory testing, published test results or particle size to classify the products.

The guidance was issued for the use of agency inspectors responsible for determining whether products are classified properly for combustible dust hazards by manufacturers and importers. Deadline for compliance is June of next year.