The OSHA rulemaking process on combustible dust has been stalled at the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) stage for some time. The SBREFA, which had an original completion date of April 2011, now may not be finished until at least October 2013.
While OSHA continues to move slowly in the rulemaking development process, accidents continue to occur. There were at least a dozen OSHA citations related to combustible dust in 2012 alone, with fines into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although there has been a lack of urgency at OSHA, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has not been standing still as it relates to standards development for this hazard.