I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 849 

To require the Secretary of Labor to issue interim and final occupational 

safety and health standards regarding worker exposure to combustible 

dust, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2009 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. BARROW, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Labor to issue interim and 

final occupational safety and health standards regarding 

worker exposure to combustible dust, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Worker Protection 

5 Against Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires Act of 

6 2009’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) An emergency exists concerning worker ex2 posure to combustible dust explosions and fires. 

3 (2) Fourteen workers were killed and more than 

4 60 seriously injured in a catastrophic combustible 

5 dust explosion at Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth, 

6 Georgia on February 7, 2008. 

7 (3) Following 3 catastrophic dust explosions 

8 that killed 14 workers in 2003, the Chemical Safety 

9 and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) issued a re10 port in November 2006, which identified 281 com11 bustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 that 

12 killed 119 workers and injured 718. The CSB con13 cluded that ‘‘combustible dust explosions are a seri14 ous hazard in American industry’’. 

15 (4) A quarter of the explosions occurred at food 

16 industry facilities, including sugar plants. Seventy 

17 additional combustible dust explosions have occurred 

18 since 2005. 

19 (5) Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) often 

20 do not adequately address the hazards of combus21 tible dusts, and the OSHA Hazard Communication 

22 Standard (HCS) inadequately addresses dust explo23 sion hazards and fails to ensure that safe work prac24 tices and guidance documents are included in 

25 MSDSs. 


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1 (6) The CSB recommended that OSHA issue a 

2 standard designed to prevent combustible dust fires 

3 and explosions in general industry, based on current 

4 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) dust 

5 explosion standards. 

6 (7) The CSB also recommended that OSHA re7 vise the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) 

8 (1910.1200) to clarify that combustible dusts are 

9 covered and that Material Safety Data Sheets con10 tain information about the hazards and physical 

11 properties of combustible dusts. 

12 (8) OSHA has not initiated rulemaking in re13 sponse to the CSB’s recommendation. 

14 (9) OSHA issued a grain handling facilities 

15 standard (29 C.F.R. 1910.272), in 1987 that has 

16 proven highly effective in reducing the risk of com17 bustible grain dust explosions, according to an 

18 OSHA evaluation. 

19 (10) No Occupational Safety and Health Ad20 ministration standard comprehensively addresses 

21 combustible dust explosion hazards in general indus22 try. 

23 (11) Voluntary National Fire Protection Asso24 ciation standards exist which, when implemented, efVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:29 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H849.IH H849

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1 fectively reduce the likelihood and impact of combus2 tible dust explosions. 

3 SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF STANDARD ON COMBUSTIBLE DUST. 

4 (a) INTERIM STANDARD.— 

5 (1) APPLICATION AND RULEMAKING.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of law, not later than 

7 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

8 Secretary of Labor shall promulgate an interim final 

9 standard regulating combustible dusts. The interim 

10 final standard shall, at a minimum, apply to manu11 facturing, processing, blending, conveying, repack12 aging, and handling of combustible particulate solids 

13 and their dusts, including organic dusts (such as 

14 sugar, candy, paper, soap, and dried blood), plastics, 

15 sulfur, wood, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, 

16 pharmaceuticals, fibers, dyes, coal, metals (such as 

17 aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, and zinc), 

18 fossil fuels, and others determined by the Secretary, 

19 but shall not apply to processes already covered by 

20 OSHA’s standard on grain facilities (29 C.F.R. 

21 1910.272). 

22 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The interim final stand23 ard required under this subsection shall include the 

24 following: 


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1 (A) Requirements for hazard assessment to 

2 identify, evaluate, and control combustible dust 

3 hazards. 

4 (B) Requirements for a written program 

5 that includes provisions for hazardous dust in6 spection, testing, hot work, ignition control, and 

7 housekeeping, including the frequency and 

8 method or methods used to minimize accumula9 tions of combustible dust on ledges, floors, 

10 equipment, and other exposed surfaces. 

11 (C) Requirements for engineering controls 

12 (which requirements shall be effective 6 months 

13 after the date on which the interim standard is 

14 issued), administrative controls, and operating 

15 procedures, such as means to control fugitive 

16 dust emissions and ignition sources, the safe 

17 use and maintenance of dust producing and 

18 dust collection systems and filters, minimizing 

19 horizontal surfaces where dust can accumulate, 

20 and sealing of areas inaccessible to house21 keeping. 

22 (D) Requirements for housekeeping to pre23 vent accumulation of combustible dust in places 

24 of employment in such depths that it can 

25 present explosion, deflagration, or other fire 


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1 hazards, including safe methods of dust re2 moval. 

3 (E) Requirements for employee participa4 tion in hazard assessment, development of and 

5 compliance with the written program, and other 

6 elements of hazard management. 

7 (F) Requirements to provide written safety 

8 and health information and annual training to 

9 employees, including housekeeping procedures, 

10 hot work procedures, preventive maintenance 

11 procedures, common ignition sources, and lock12 out, tag-out procedures. 

13 (3) PROCEDURE.—The requirements in this 

14 subsection shall take effect without regard to the 

15 procedural requirements applicable to regulations 

16 promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational 

17 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) 

18 or the procedural requirements of chapter 5 of title 

19 5, United States Code. 

20 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF INTERIM STAND21 ARD.—Except as specified in paragraph (2)(C) with 

22 regards to engineering controls, the interim final 

23 standard shall take effect 30 days after issuance. 

24 The interim final standard shall have the legal effect 

25 of an occupational safety and health standard, and 


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1 shall apply until a final standard becomes effective 

2 under section 6 of the Occupational Safety and 

3 Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655). 

4 (b) FINAL STANDARD.— 

5 (1) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 18 months 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary of Labor shall, pursuant to section 6 of the 

8 Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 

9 655), promulgate a final standard regulating com10 bustible dust explosions. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The final standard re12 quired under this subsection shall include the fol13 lowing: 

14 (A) The scope described in subsection 

15 (a)(1). 

16 (B) The worker protection provisions in 

17 subsection (a)(2). 

18 (C) Requirements for managing change of 

19 dust producing materials, technology, equip20 ment, staffing, and procedures. 

21 (D) Requirements for building design such 

22 as explosion venting, ducting, and sprinklers. 

23 (E) Requirements for explosion protection, 

24 including separation and segregation of the haz25 ard. 


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1 (F) Relevant and appropriate provisions of 

2 National Fire Protection Association combus3 tible dust standards. 

4 (3) PROCEDURE.—The final standard required 

5 by this subsection shall be promulgated in accord6 ance with the procedural requirements for rule7 making under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safe8 ty and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) and 

9 under title 5, United States Code, including the re10 quirements relating to small businesses in chapter 6 

11 of such title. 

12 SEC. 4. REVISION OF THE HAZARD COMMUNICATION 

13 STANDARD. 

14 (a) REVISION REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 

15 other provision of law, not later than 6 months after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 

17 revise the hazard communication standard in section 

18 1910.1200 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, by 

19 amending the definition of ‘‘physical hazard’’ in subsection 

20 (c) of such section to include ‘‘a combustible dust’’ as an 

21 additional example of such a hazard. 

22 (b) EFFECT OF MODIFICATIONS.—The modification 

23 under this section shall be in force until superseded in 

24 whole or in part by regulations promulgated by the Sec25 retary of Labor under section 6(b) of the Occupational 


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1 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) and 

2 shall be enforced in the same manner and to the same 

3 extent as any rule or regulation promulgated under section 

4 6(b). 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The modification to the haz6 ard communication standard required shall take effect 

7 within 30 days after the publication of the revised rule. 

Æ 


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