Industry reps air their views on OSHA ComDust
ATLANTA – Representatives from a wide variety of industries urged federal safety officials to be careful not to regulate them to death in drafting new combustible dust standards.

The comments were made at a Feb. 17 public hearing hosted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

According to the Savannah Morning News, many of the audience members noted that they are concerned OSHA will go overboard in trying to develop a standard that covers dusts as wide ranging as wood, coal and flour. Their main fears are that the resulting rules would be complex and costly to meet.

For example, the paper quoted attorney Howard Mavity, of the Atlanta firm Fisher & Phillips, as saying that the proposed standards could cost companies he is familiar with $600,000 to $800,000 each to achieve.

Dorothy Dougherty, an OSHA representative present at the meeting, reportedly said, the agency will take its time to develop the regulations.

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