WASHINGTON – Wood dust is included under a new safety and health instruction for combustible dusts issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The instruction covers OSHA policies and procedures for inspecting workplaces that handle combustible dusts and that may have the potential for a dust explosion.

“With the National Emphasis Program, we will focus our efforts on the fire and explosion hazards that may exist at facilities where combustible dusts accumulate,” said Edwin Foulke Jr., assistant secretary of Labor for OSHA. “A combustible dust fire and/or explosion is a potential hazard to America’s working men and women. This instruction will be a valuable resource for those who inspect industrial facilities in the United States.”

The instruction provides detailed information on OSHA’s inspection scheduling, resource allocation, inspection resources and procedures. OSHA said this information is “particularly useful” in educating businesses on how to achieve compliance with OSHA requirements in advance of any inspection.

The instruction is available at http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_03-00-006.pdf.