|
Welcome to the MidAmerica OSHA e-learning portal.
Your source for online safety training.
We are an official OSHA Education Center.
1-866-444-4412
Coming soon: Online OSHA Outreach training.
Check out our list of online safety courses.
- 10-Hour Construction (2008)
- 30-Hour Construction (2008)
- Safety Program Management
- PPE
|
- Fall Protection
- General Industry outreach training (2008)
- MSHA safety topics (2008)
Much more to come...
|
| |
Any combustible material (and some materials normally considered noncombustible) can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form. If such a dust is suspended in air in the right concentration, it can become explosive. The force from such an explosion can cause employee deaths, injuries, and destruction of entire buildings. Such incidents have killed scores of employees and injured hundreds over the past few decades.
Materials that may form combustible dust include metals (such as aluminum and magnesium), wood, coal, plastics, biosolids, sugar, paper, soap, dried blood, and certain textiles. In many accidents, employers and employees were unaware that a hazard even existed.
A combustible dust explosion hazard may exist in a variety of industries, including: food (e.g., candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed), grain, tobacco, plastics, wood, paper, pulp, rubber, furniture, textiles, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal, metals (e.g., aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, and zinc), and fossil fuel power generation.
The following questions link to information relevant to combustible dust in the workplace.
 What standards apply? OSHA | National Consensus
 What additional information is available?
|
| |
We have added new versions of Fall Protection, Aerial Lift Safety and Electrical Safety to our Construction Topics. We are continuing to create new safety topics and are always improving what we have. Be sure to keep checking back to see what's new! |
| |
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) to target worksites where employees are at risk for developing silicosis.
"Exposure to silica threatens nearly two million American employees annually," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. "Under this program, OSHA will work diligently to maximize the protection of employees and eliminate workplace exposures to silica-related hazards."
The NEP compliance directive builds on policies and procedures instituted in the 1996 Special Emphasis Program and includes an updated list of industries commonly known to have overexposures to silica; detailed information on potential hazards linked to silica and about current research regarding silica exposure hazards; guidance on calculating the Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for dust containing respirable crystalline silica in the construction and maritime industries; and guidance on conducting silica-related inspections.
Two additional elements included in the directive are an evaluation procedure for recording reductions of employee exposures to silica, as well as information on outreach programs, partnerships and alliances with employers to share resources and training to reduce employee exposures.
Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by breathing in a large amount of crystalline silica. Visit www.osha.gov for more information on hazard recognition and possible solutions to silica exposure.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov. |
| |
