The dust flare-up that rocked the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, GA, claiming the lives of fourteen workers in 2008 created a national agenda for thwarting combustible dust explosions.

OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) announced random checks and this came with the reissue of CPL 03-00-008, their NEP (National Emphasis Program) tends to the agency’s high expectations for preventing dust-related explosions.

The NEP also shows what the OSHA auditors will be checking for such as dust layer of more than 5% of a factory or dust accumulation of more than 1/32”.

Old methods of getting rid of dust do not work on fine dust. This has led food manufacturing factories to turn to shop-style vacuums. These vacuums are good for regular cleaning, but can be hazardous on combustible dust such as cinnamon and sugar. Using such vacuums also goes against OSHA’s Combustible Dust NEP that state that only approved electrical vacuums should be used to remove dust from hazard-classified areas, this is a requirement under standard 1910.307(b).