As we mentioned in a previous blog, the penalties for OSHA violations will increase a whopping 78% on August 1.
If you want to avoid costly fines, you need to become compliant as soon as possible. That includes complying with 29 CFR 1910.22, which is the main OSHA standard for housekeeping.
It’s also one of the OSHA standards that deals with combustible dust. The standard doesn’t specifically mention combustible dust. But, according to the Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program,
If the facility being inspected under this NEP is not a grain handling facility, and the surface dust accumulations (i.e., dust accumulations outside the dust collection system or other containers, such as mixers), can create an explosion, deflagration or other fire hazard, than citations for violations of 29 CFR 1910.22 (housekeeping) shall be issued…Courts of appeals and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission have held that 1910.22 applies to the hazard of combustible dust.
So, what industries are the biggest violators of this standard? Here are the top 10, based on number of citations issued by Federal OSHA between October 2014 and September 2015:
| Economic Subsector | # of Citations | Penalties |
| Fabricated metal product manufacturing | 90 | $123,276 |
| Wood product manufacturing | 69 | $97,213 |
| Merchant wholesalers, durable goods | 38 | $52,277 |
| Plastics and rubber products manufacturing | 38 | $139,453 |
| Repair and maintenance | 37 | $68,351 |
| Furniture and related product manufacturing | 37 | $51,651 |
| Food manufacturing | 36 | $85,765 |
| Warehousing and storage | 35 | $58,257 |
| Nonmetal mineral product manufacturing | 24 | $24,880 |
| Primary metal manufacturing | 23 | $65,567 |
The total penalties across all industries during the specified timeframe was $1,546,595. After August 1, those same citations could cost companies as much as $2,752,939!
No matter what industry you’re in — but especially if you’re in one of the 10 listed above — the time for compliance is now.
Our combustible dust experts are standing by to help you better understand and mitigate the risks of this hazard. Contact us today.
