The company has announced plans to contest OSHA’s proposed penalties of $9 million, and joined calls for a new combustible dust standard.

OSHA said its inspections of Imperial’s facilities in Georgia and Louisiana found that there were large accumulations of combustible sugar dust in workrooms, on electrical motors and on other equipment, claiming that officials at the company were well aware of these conditions, but took no action.

Imperial CEO and President John Sheptor disputed OSHA’s remarks, saying it quickly worked to address concerns, including preemptively shutting down its Louisiana powdered sugar operations.

Sheptor said the company responded appropriately to OSHA’s National Emphasis Program on combustible dust, which was first published in October of 2007, and called for a clear and comprehensive OSHA standard that specifically addresses combustible dust.

Congress is considering whether to legislate a combustible dust standard, and the chairman of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is calling on OSHA to act on the November 2006 CSB recommendation to adopt a comprehensive standard regulating combustible dust in the workplace.

Speaking before the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, John Bresland said the tragedy at Imperial demonstrates the need for a new OSHA standard that would cover a range of industries exposed to this hazard. Such industries include food, chemicals, plastics, automotive parts, pharmaceuticals, electrical power (where generated by coal) and others.

“After witnessing the terrible human and physical toll from the Imperial explosion, I believe the urgency of a new combustible dust standard is greater than ever,” Bresland told the subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. “A new standard, combined with enforcement and education, will save workers’ lives.”

Bresland displayed a number of photographs, obtained during the CSB’s investigation of the accident, that undermine Imperial’s claims.

We’re not talking a light coating here. Reports indicate that some places had sugar dust piled at least 18 inches high, and the photos show substantial amounts of sugar dust on elevated surfaces and floors at the company’s refinery in Port Wentworth, GA. The photographs were taken in 2006, Bresland said, adding that testimony to the CSB indicates large amounts of sugar dust remained in the facility until the accident on February 7, 2008.

To view the damning the photographs, go to ftp://ftp.csb.gov/SenateDust. Also testifying before the Senate Committee was the American Society of Safety Engineers, which is urging caution in addressing the issue legislatively. ASSE is concerned that proposed legislation does not address the adequacy of OSHA’s resources to train enough inspectors on combustible dust, and won’t give industry enough time to comply.

Still, ASSE says it can support the “Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008” (HR 5522), especially the assurance that any new OSHA rule will not be less effective than the National Fire Protection Association’s voluntary consensus standard and its already existing standards on combustibles.

ASSE’s concerns are valid, but we’re glad they can support the legislation, because CSB’s investigation reveals something has to be done.

The CSB said it obtained documents indicating that certain parts of Imperial’s milling process were releasing tens of thousands of pounds of sugar per month into the work area. Based on its evidence, Imperial did not have a written dust control program or a program for using safe dust removal methods. And the company lacked a formal training program to educate its workers about combustible dust hazards.

It’s hard to believe, especially since the hazards are known. But, as one speaker at NFPA’s World Safety Congress and Expo said in June, if you have dust in your facility, just clean it up.

Thanks and good luck.