2nd Anniversary of Catastrophic Dust Explosion....

This week is the 2nd anniversary of a horrific dust explosion that killed three workers and burned two others. Here is the story:

At about 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2010, a small metals recycling plant in the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Witnesses heard a loud thud and metal hitting the floor. An explosion ripped through the building. Flames shot in all directions.

Two workers who were brothers, 39 and 38 years old, died inside from heat and smoke inside the building. Another worker, 27 years old, made it out, but suffered burns over most of his body. He died four days later in a nearby hospital.

Two years later, the plant quietly continues to fight federal workplace safety citations related to the incident. 

Lawyers for the family have filed papers in their pursuit of a lawsuit against the company. 

The federal Chemical Safety Board is on the verge of dropping its investigation into this incident. Agency officials cite budget and staffing constraints, and say completing the probe would likely not provide much new information about the dangers of combustible dust.

"It fits into the broader problem with the lack of dust regulation in the United States," said Chemical Safety Board's managing director. "I'm not sure how much impact one additional case has on that overall picture."

For years, the CSB has been urging labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to set standards to protect workers from combustible dust explosions and fires.

In a landmark 2006 report, the board identified 281 dust fires and explosions that killed 119 workers and injured 718 others between 1980 and 2006. Last year, the board said there had since been another 17 deaths in dust incidents -- including the three fatalities at this incident. The Center for Public Integrity, which has investigated the issue extensively, reports that these numbers are likely significant understatements. 

"The CSB has concluded that combustible dust explosions are a serious hazard in American industry, and that existing efforts inadequately address this hazard," the board said in its report, released six years ago last month. Initially under the Obama administration, OSHA announced plans to take up the CSB's recommendations for a combustible dust standard. Earlier this year, OSHA moved the matter to

its "long-term" agenda, and said it had no timetable for issuing even a draft rule.

"This means we are continuing to work on this project but we are not projecting a next action and date at this time," agency officials said earlier this year.

Agency officials did not respond to a request for an interview with OSHA chief for this story.

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is unique government agency that has the long history investigating the root causes. The CSB is an independent US federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. the agency's board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

With the U.S. debt crisis in the daily headlines, it is fair to assume that US federal government safety departments budgets will not be expanded in the near future. As the CSB has stated in this incident, budget constraints have resulted in the investigation of the root cause in this incident to be placed on hold.

The Chemical Safety Board's website can be located here.

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