OSHA has posted a new Combustible Dust Safety and Health Topics Web page on its Web site to help employers address hazardous combustible dust and provide recommendations to prevent and control these hazards.

The Web page can be found at www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html.

Combustible dust has been a hot-button safety issue since an explosion last month at a Georgia sugar refinery resulted in 12 worker deaths and dozens more injured.

"Fires and explosions resulting from combustible dust can pose a significant danger at the workplace," said OSHA chief Edwin G. Foulke Jr. "This new safety and health topics page is part of a long-term, ongoing program in OSHA to address these hazards and assure safe and healthful working conditions."

The new Web page also features a link to the National Emphasis Program on Combustible Dust (www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=3729), which provides information on compliance with existing standards, an understanding of the hazard, and methods of abatement and collection of data for analysis.

The new page also incorporates information on directives as well as OSHA and national census standards.