I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5522 

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 

MARCH 4, 2008 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself and Mr. BARROW) 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 ‘‘Combustible Dust Ex5 plosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 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) At least 12 workers were killed and more 

4 than 60 seriously injured in a catastrophic combus5 tible dust explosion at Imperial Sugar in Savannah, 

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. A quarter of the 

13 explosions occurred at food industry facilities, in14 cluding sugar plants. 

15 (4) The CSB concluded that ‘‘combustible dust 

16 explosions are a serious hazard in American indus17 try’’. 

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

19 do not adequately address the hazards of combus20 tible dusts and the hazard communication standard 

21 promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health 

22 Administration (OSHA) (29 C.F.R. 1910.1200) in23 adequately addresses dust explosion hazards, and 

24 fails to ensure that safe work practices and guidance 

25 documents are included in 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 dust explosion 

5 standards, and also that OSHA revise the hazard 

6 communication standard to clarify that combustible 

7 dusts are covered and that Material Safety Data 

8 Sheets contain information about the hazards and 

9 physical properties of combustible dusts. 

10 (7) OSHA has not formally acted on either of 

11 the CSB’s regulatory recommendations. 

12 (8) OSHA issued a grain handling facilities 

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

14 proven highly effective in reducing the risk of com15 bustible grain dust explosions, according to an 

16 OSHA evaluation. 

17 (9) No OSHA standard comprehensively ad18 dresses combustible dust explosion hazards in gen19 eral industry. 

20 (10) Voluntary National Fire Protection Asso21 ciation standards exist which, when implemented, ef22 fectively reduce the likelihood and impact of combus23 tible dust explosions. 

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

25 (a) INTERIM STANDARD.— 


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1 (1) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary of Labor shall promulgate an interim final 

4 standard regulating combustible dusts. The interim 

5 final standard shall apply to manufacturing, proc6 essing, blending, conveying, repackaging, and han7 dling of combustible particulate solids and their 

8 dusts, including food (such as candy, starch, flour, 

9 sugar, feed), plastics, wood, rubber, furniture, tex10 tiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fibers, dyes, coal, 

11 metals (such as aluminum, chromium, iron, magne12 sium, and zinc), fossil fuels power, and any other in13 dustry in which combustible dust presents a hazard, 

14 but shall not apply to processes already covered by 

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

16 1910.272). 

17 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The interim final stand18 ard required under this subsection shall provide no 

19 less protection than the recommendations contained 

20 in the National Fire Protection Association’s Stand21 ard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions 

22 from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling 

23 of Combustible Particulate Solids–2006 (NFPA 

24 654) and Standard for Combustible Metals–2006 

25 (NFPA 484) and shall provide for the 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 which includes plans for hazardous dust inspec6 tion, testing, housekeeping, and control, with 

7 established frequency and methods. 

8 (C) Requirements for engineering, admin9 istrative controls and operating procedures such 

10 as means to controlling fugitive dust emissions 

11 and ignition sources, the use of dust collection 

12 systems and filters, minimizing horizontal sur13 faces where dust can accumulate, and sealing of 

14 areas inaccessible to housekeeping. 

15 (D) Requirements for managing change of 

16 dust producing materials, technology, equip17 ment, staffing, and procedures. 

18 (E) Requirements for housekeeping to con19 trol accumulation of combustible dust. 

20 (F) Requirements for building design, such 

21 as equipping buildings with explosion venting or 

22 sprinklers. 

23 (G) Requirements for explosion protection, 

24 including separation and segregation of the haz25 ard. 


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1 (H) Requirements for employee participa2 tion in hazard assessment, development of and 

3 compliance with the written program, and other 

4 elements of hazard management in this stand5 ard. 

6 (I) Requirements to provide written safety 

7 and health information and training to employ8 ees, including hazard communication informa9 tion, labeling, and training. 

10 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE OF INTERIM STAND11 ARD.—The interim final standard shall take effect 

12 upon issuance. The interim final standard shall have 

13 the legal effect of an occupational safety and health 

14 standard, and shall apply until a final standard be15 comes effective under section 6 of the Occupational 

16 Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655). 

17 (b) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 18 months 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

19 Labor shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational 

20 Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655), promulgate a 

21 final standard regulating combustible dust explosions. The 

22 final standard shall contain, at a minimum, the worker 

23 protection provisions in subsection (a)(2). 


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1 SEC. 4. REVISION OF THE HAZARD COMMUNICATION 

2 STANDARD. 

3 (a) RULEMAKING.—The hazard communications 

4 standard in section 1910.1200(c) of chapter 29, Code of 

5 Federal Regulations, shall be revised as follows: 

6 (1) The definition of ‘‘physical hazard’’ (29 

7 C.F.R. 1910.1200(c)) shall be revised to include ‘‘a 

8 combustible dust’’ as an additional example of a 

9 physical hazard. 

10 (2) The term ‘‘combustible dust’’ shall be added 

11 to the definitions in such section and such term shall 

12 be defined as ‘‘a combustible particulate solid or 

13 finely divided metal that presents a fire or deflagra14 tion hazard when suspended in air or some other 

15 oxidizing medium over a range of concentrations re16 gardless of particle size and shape’’. 

17 (b) PROCEDURE AND EFFECTIVE DATE.—The modi18 fications of the standard required by subsection (a) shall 

19 be made and published in the Federal Register not later 

20 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act 

21 by the Secretary of Labor acting through the Occupational 

22 Safety and Health Administration without regard to the 

23 procedural requirements applicable to regulations promul24 gated under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and 

25 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) or the procedural 

26 requirements of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 Such revised standard shall take effect not later than 90 

2 days after the publication in the Federal Register. 

3 (c) EFFECT OF MODIFICATIONS.—The modifications 

4 under this section shall be in force until superseded in 

5 whole or in part by regulations promulgated by the Sec6 retary of Labor under section 6(b) of the Occupational 

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

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

9 extent as any rule or regulation promulgated under such 

10 section. 

Æ 


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