Burning dust in a sugar plant

Just as you can start a fire by tossing a handful of flour or powdered sugar into the air followed by a burning match, the ignition of dust particles can cause huge fires and resulting damage.

On February 8, northeast of Savannah, Georgia, the deaths of 13 workers and severe burn injuries by other employees followed an explosion and raging fires at the Imperial Sugar Refinery. Apparently sugar dust in a silo ignited like so much dynamite. Here’s an aerial view of the plant from the Savannah Morning news:

Now questions are exploding in Congress and in the streets of Washington DC about what OSHA is doing to prevent such tragedies. At one end of the blame spectrum, American Rights at Work declares that Elaine Chou, the Secretary of Labor, has been less than forthright in pushing for stronger regulation of workplaces in danger of dust-caused explosions. After an investigation, OSHA cited the company’s refinery in Louisiana for violations of safety standards and assessed a $36,000 fine. The company has 15 days to protest, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Blame issues aside, the reality is that many manufacturing companies carry a risk of explosion of fine particles. A description of the major areas of concern for “dust hazards” is provided by OSHA, and businesses noted for a high risk can take advantage of this and other information to make their workplaces less susceptible to explosive dust.

Industries most at risk, according to OSHA:

Food (candy, starch, flour, feed)
Plastics
Wood
Rubber
Furniture
Textiles
Pesticides
Pharmaceuticals
Dyes
Coal
Metals (aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, zinc)
Fossil fuel power generation

Most natural and synthetic organic materials, as well as some metals, can form combustible dust.

by Griffith Publishing

Snags in promoting good health to your workers

A study released in April of this year by Hewitt Associates found that 88 percent of the employers surveyed plan to spend money and other resources to improve their workers’ health and productivity. That is up from 66 percent the previous year.

Ambitious plans for health improvement hit a snag, according to the study, because employees don’t like their bosses telling them how to make healthful choices to be more valuable at work. Only 12 percent of  employees in the study said they felt it was appropriate for their employers to play a health promoting role.

“Employees trust their doctors and view them as the sole people who own their health,” says Jim Winkler,  leader of Hewitt’s health management consulting practice.

Occupational medicine services should be based on the premise that doctors in private practice are best positioned to advocate healthful principles at work and in personal life. It’s known as the doctor-patient relationship. “The trust that builds between a patient and doctor is one of the strongest bonds that exists,” one doctor commented.

That doesn’t leave employers out of the loop. Winkler suggests making it easier for employees to find the information they need about specific health issues and not requiring them to sign in to find out phone numbers and contact information for specific health services or clinics.

Another approach not mentioned by Winkler is to build on the strong doctor-patient relationship by involving primary care and occupational medicine physicians in your company’s wellness programs.

(This blog is brought to you by HealthWorks and Griffith Publishing.)