Sugar Plant Explosion - In 2006 OSHA Refused Dust Regulations Adoption

WASHINGTON (AP) - Top federal safety officials urged the Labor Department in 2006 to adopt critical regulations to prevent deadly dust explosions -- like the one suspected in the deadly blast in a Georgia sugar plant yesterday -- but the government has failed to do so.

In the past 28 years, about 300 dust explosions have killed more than 120 workers and injured several hundred others in sugar plants, food processors, and many industrial and wood manufacturers. Most are preventable by removing fine-grain dust as it builds up, experts say.

But that has not been required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is part of the Labor Department. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which investigates industrial accidents, concluded in a report in 2006 that OSHA had no comprehensive regulation to prevent dust explosions and that its program "inadequately addresses" the problem.

The safety board said a 20-year-old OSHA dust regulation aimed only at grain plants and silos is effective, and shows why regulations are needed for other companies.

OSHA officials said they began stepped-up enforcement on dust issues in October, but other safety officials say that's not enough and that detailed dust safety regulations are needed.