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Comments on the OSHA ANPR on Explosive Dust, January 19, 2010
January 19, 2010
OSHA Docket Office
Docket No. OSHA-2009-0023
RIN No. 1218-AC41
Technical Data Center
Room N-2625
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
RE: OSHA ANPR on Combustible Dust
Dear Sir or Madam:
The Industrial Minerals Association – North America (IMA-NA) is pleased to offer the following comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding combustible dust (74 FR 54333 et seq.; October 21, 2009). IMA-NA specifically addresses one of the questions posed by OSHA in the ANPR (Question 49) as to whether certain mineral dusts should be covered by any proposed rule. It is IMA-NA’s recommendation to OSHA that non-combustible mineral dusts should be excluded from any proposed rule.
IMA-NA is a Washington, DC-based trade association created to advance the interests of North American Companies that mine or process minerals used throughout the manufacturing and agricultural industries. In addition, IMA-NA represents associate member companies that provide equipment and services to the industrial minerals industry. Additional information on IMA-NA can be accessed through the following hyperlink: http://www.ima-na.org.
Since its inception in 2002, IMA-NA has worked cooperatively with OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). IMA-NA’s members primarily operate under the jurisdiction of MSHA, but some of their operations—and the operations of most of their customers, where the industry’s products are used—are subject to the jurisdiction of OSHA. IMA-NA recognizes that the first priority and concern of all in industry must be the health and safety of its most precious resource – the worker.
To that end, IMA-NA offers the following comments to OSHA.
On page 54345 of the ANPR, OSHA asks:
49. Data indicates that mineral dusts (such as silicates, sulphates, nitrates, carbonates, phosphates, cement, salt, gypsum, sand, and limestone) are not explosible. Should OSHA exclude mineral dusts or any other dust from coverage? If so, which dusts? Please provide the technical data substantiating the lack of explosibility.
We would like to offer the following definition of non-combustible dust.
Non-combustible dust: Will not ignite, burn, support combustion, or release flammable vapors in the presence of ignition sources of various intensities, such as a spark, a match flame, a Bunsen burner, or a Meker burner. Any inorganic material, oxidized metal particles, mineral dusts (such as silicates, sulphates, nitrates, carbonates, phosphates, cement, salt, potash, trona, gypsum, sand, and limestone), or other non-oxidizable materials should be considered non-combustible unless testing proves otherwise.
The lack of explosibility of mineral dusts is well documented. For example, limestone dust is used extensively to render inert combustible dusts, such as coal dust.
Indeed OSHA, on page 54344 of the ANPR, recognizes the benefit of dilution with noncombustible dust as one of the counter-measures to mitigate combustible dust hazards:
28. Do your facilities or equipment have any of the following primary engineering controls to mitigate combustible dust hazards? ….
d. Dilution with noncombustible dust. ….
MSHA already regulates metal/nonmetal mine “explosive” dusts. 30 CFR § 57.20009 provides:
Tests for explosive dusts.
Dusts suspected of being explosive shall be tested for explosibility. If tests prove positive, appropriate control measures shall be taken.
As further evidence that mineral dusts should be excluded from any OSHA combustible dust proposal, IMA-NA attaches a number of International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC)(U.S. National version) of representative mineral dusts, including: barium sulfate, bentonite, calcium carbonate, calcium oxide, calcium silicate, diatomaceous earth, kaolin, magnesium oxide, quartz, sodium borate decahydrate, sodium sesquicarbonate dehydrate, and talc. The IPCS is a joint activity of three cooperating International Organizations: namely the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Office (ILO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The main objective of the IPCS is to carry out and disseminate evaluations of the hazards posed by chemicals to human health and the environment. The U.S. National version of the ICSCs has been modified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Additional information on the ICSC can be accessed through the following hyperlink: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ipcs/ipcscard.html.
ISCSs do not exist for all mineral dusts. To complement our submission we have attached separate technical data on nepheline syenite (CAS 377244-96-5) and wollastonite (CAS 13983-17-0).
Please note that many of these mineral dusts have extremely high melting points. In mineral processing it is not unusual for these and other mineral dusts to be “calcined,” that is, heated at high temperatures to expel volatile matter such as carbon dioxide, water, or sulfur, with or without oxidation. The fact that mineral dusts have high melting temperatures and are capable of undergoing calcining is further evidence that they are non-combustible and do not pose an explosibility hazard.
IMA-NA also offers the following comments relative to concerns about OSHA’s incorporation by reference of consensus standards it its standards and regulations.
Consensus standards may provide a useful framework for rulemaking, but should never be incorporated wholesale by reference. There are numerous reasons for not incorporating them:
• Most consensus standards in the field of fire control measures are developed to protect property, rather than workers. While there may be some overlap between the two, the Department of Labor and its agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), should develop regulations that concentrate first and foremost on the safety and health of the workers.
• Consensus standards are developed by commercial entities in the private sector, and are generally copyrighted materials that are sold for a profit. The cost of some of these materials, taking into account the numerous internal references in each standard, can be considerable, placing an undue burden on small employers.
• OSHA regulations should be clear and complete. Innumerable cross-references make it almost impossible to track applicable standards.
• OSHA is obliged to obtain the input of the regulated community in any new rules that it proposes or promulgates. The consensus standards are developed outside of the government’s rulemaking process, often with limited input from a representative cross section of the regulated community.
In light of the foregoing and in conclusion, IMA-NA maintains that mineral dusts should not be required to prove their non-combustible nature and should be excluded from any OSHA combustible dust proposal.
IMA-NA is pleased to have had the opportunity to comment on OSHA’s ANPR on Combustible Dust and it stands ready to assist in a constructive manner in the promulgation of an appropriate regulation regarding combustible dust.
Sincerely,
Mark G. Ellis
President
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