Last week’s announcement that OSHA was seeking an enormous fine from Imperial Sugar for their actions leading to the explosion that killed 13 workers was encouraging, insofar as it means that the company’s negligence will carry a price tag.
But fining corporations after the fact isn’t enough — we need real standards from OSHA to prevent combustible dust accidents from occurring in the first place. Over the last couple of days, this point has been made forcefully by leaders in both labor and politics.
Yesterday, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) reiterated their call for such standards:
OSHA’s proposed fines of $8.7 million for violations at the Imperial Sugar plant near Savannah, Georgia, where an explosion killed 13 workers in February, and at another plant in Gramercy, Louisiana, magnify the gaps in current OSHA enforcement standards with regard to combustible dust, including a reliance on “general duty” citations and a patchwork of other standards which are limited in scope and do not address such critical considerations as design, maintenance, hazard review and explosion protection…
The UFCW applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing legislation to force OSHA to set a combustible dust standard, and urges President Bush to reconsider his veto threat. OSHA must act now and follow the recommendations of the CSB before more workers are killed or horribly injured.
Echoing this call was a statement from Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor:
This unfortunate tragedy didn’t have to happen. The Chemical Safety Board urged OSHA in 2006 to adopt rules that could prevent more deaths and injuries caused by combustible dust explosions. OSHA ignored those recommendations. The agency tasked by Congress to protect the health and safety of American workers has failed to aggressively address this deadly problem.
It is obvious from these events that existing rules and efforts by OSHA to prevent these explosions are not sufficient. The agency should immediately issue an emergency standard to prevent these explosive hazards. Failing that, Congress will act to ensure that the agency does its job.
And this morning, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), the American Dream Candidate for President, issued his own statement calling on OSHA to act:
We must do everything we can to protect America’s workers and prevent terrible accidents, like the deadly explosion at Imperial Sugar earlier this year, that occur as a result of combustible dust. It’s long past time that OSHA issue a standard to prevent these kinds of accidents, and if the agency will not do so, then Congress must legislate one as soon as possible…
Occasional fines in isolated cases, like in the case of Imperial Sugar, will not solve the problem. Fines and penalties must be applied systemically when violations occur to encourage compliance by other employers. OSHA must also issue standards in a timely and effective manner. Taken together, recent independent evaluations of agency performance indicate that the Labor Department is suffering from a dangerous lack of leadership and focus, and workers are paying the price. This hearing is only the latest in a series of events that make it clear that Secretary Chao and her team should recommit their efforts to enforce the protections workers are due under the law.
You can join their call for real combustible dust standards to protect workers — sign the petition today:
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