The revised program added industries with a higher likelihood of having combustible dust hazards.
March 29, 2023
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a revised Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program in late January 2023. The purpose of the revised emphasis program is to continue OSHA inspections of facilities that generate or handle combustible dusts likely to cause fire, flash fire, deflagration and explosion hazards.
OSHA initiated the Combustible Dust NEP in October 2007 after many combustible dust incidents resulted in numerous fatalities and serious injuries. The agency then reissued the program in March 2008 after a combustible dust explosion at a sugar refinery in Georgia. Since 2007, the agency has conducted about 600 inspections annually under this emphasis program.
The NEP was revised based on enforcement history and combustible dust incident reports. In 2018, wood and food products made up an average of 70 percent of the materials involved in combustible dust fires and explosions. Incident reports indicate that the majority of the industries involved in combustible dust hazards are wood processing, agricultural and food production and lumber production, but others are susceptible as well.
The revised program