Have You Completed Your Dust Hazard Analysis?
Who is responsible for Determining If I have a combustible dust? The owner / operator of that facility How do You Determine if You Have a Combustible Dust? The determination... Read More
Case Studies - Safety Fines
The Importance of Housekeeping In Your Facility
Housekeeping is not just cleanliness. It includes keeping work areas neat and orderly, maintaining halls and floors free of slip and trip hazards, and removal of waste materials (e.g., paper,... Read More
How Much Will a Shop-Vac Really Cost You?
Be it a failure in understanding the severity of combustible dust hazards or simply ignoring safety standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a common mistake made by... Read More
OSHA Enforcing Silica Standards to the Fullest
Back in September, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began to enforce its new silica standards across the construction industry in an effort to curb health problems associated with the... Read More
Cambria Corn Dust Explosion Emphasizes Need for Explosion-Proof Vacuums
Last May, an explosion rocked the Didion Milling facility in Cambria, Wisconsin. It killed five workers and hurt 14 others, with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, and the incident... Read More
OSHA Begins Enforcement of New Silica Dust Standards
On September 23rd, OSHA officially began enforcement of its revised standards for crystalline silica dust in the workplace impacting the concrete industry, with a second ruling affecting the general and... Read More
WorkSafeBC Continues to Crack Down on Canadian Wood Dust Violators
Frustratingly, the Canadian wood manufacturing industry, which is concentrated primarily throughout British Columbia, continues to struggle with implementing combustible wood dust safety, and if a recent string of fines by... Read More
Combustible Dust Safety Is A Staffing Agency’s Responsibility, Too
One of this year’s largest proposed OSHA fines featuring combustible dust violations was handed down this week to a New Jersey restaurant furniture manufacturer. Among the 42 violations cited to... Read More
Chrome Polishing Facility Explosion Highlights Dangers of Combustible Metal Dust
A fiery explosion caused by an accidental spark at the Gorilla Polishing Corporation in the Los Angeles suburb of La Habra, California took 50 firefighters to extinguish and comes with... Read More
Combustible Wood Dust Hazards Continue to Plague Wood Manufacturers
Combustible wood dust remains a chronic nuisance within the wood manufacturing industry, and a recent spell of OSHA violations, accidents and research on the epidemic reveals that manufacturers are still... Read More
Repeat Wood Dust Violations Add to Six-Figure OSHA Fine
Over the past year, Dust In Case has taken a deeper look at several notable OSHA fines handed down to facilities due to combustible dust hazards, but a new citation... Read More
OSHA Fines Tobacco Maker Over Combustible Dust Hazards
A year-long investigation stymied by OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting Program that directs the regulatory organization’s representatives to workplaces where high rates of injuries and illnesses occur has resulted in a tough... Read More
Texas Metal Dust Fire Justifies Need for Immersion Separators
Three Texas facilities have been cited by OSHA after it was determined combustible metal dust was responsible for causing a flash fire at a work site last summer. The incident,... Read More
Even Small OSHA Fines Can Add Up to a Larger Financial Nuisance…
In the past, Dust In Case has covered stories on some of OSHA’s largest combustible dust fines across many industries, but in other cases, even the smaller ones can add... Read More
ConAgra Lawsuit Reemphasizes the Severity of Combustible Dust Hazards
On April 27, 2010, the small industrial city of Chester, Illinois made headlines after a combustible dust explosion at the ConAgra Foods plant rocked its foundation. Aside from the extensive... Read More
Incident Costs: The Truth About Combustible Dust
Being in the business of working with explosive dust is a dangerous endeavor. As we’ve discussed in our previous posts, when combustible particulates get near an ignition source, injuries and... Read More
Combustible Dust: A Recap of Incidents
From OSHA to the ASSE, the second decade of the 21st century marks a landmark time in human history when it comes to safety procedures revolving around combustible dust. Explosive... Read More
OSHA Fines at Wood Pellet Manufacturer Reveal True Cost of Poor Housekeeping
What began as an investigation over a fire on October 20, 2011 at the New England Wood Pellet LLC has now resulted in $147,000 worth of proposed safety fines after... Read More
Aluminum Dust Fines Force Florida Facility to Close Doors
Taking combustible dust regulations lightly has contributed to a heavy list of fines and forced one Florida aluminum fabricator to close its doors. According to reports by The Daily Commercial... Read More
Combustible Dust Hazards Continue to Milk Fines
The need for tighter regulations and preventive measures is again making headlines after OSHA hands out safety violations stemming from combustible dust hazards to a manufacturer of dried milk products.... Read More
