"Each year, people are killed and maimed by explosions of finely powdered wood, metal or chemicals at factories around the country. Safety experts have studied the threat posed by dust at industrial sites for nearly a decade, yet tighter regulations are still years away."

"Among the reasons for the delay are a cumbersome rulemaking process and disagreement among federal agencies about how to best tackle the problem. Meanwhile, workers continue to die.

Combustible dust has been linked to at least six deaths at factories this year, five of them in separate accidents at a Tennessee plant that makes metal powders for automotive and industrial uses. Another worker was seriously injured by a fireball that investigators blame on an accumulation of iron dust at the same Hoeganaes Corp. plant in Gallatin, Tenn.

'The science of explosion control is pretty simple. It's not rocket science,' said retired University of Michigan Professor of Aeronautical Engineering Bill Kauffman. 'If you can see your footprint or can write your name on the wall, it's going to explode.'"

Travis Loller reports for the Associated Press November 14, 2011. [2]