National Petrochemical & Refiners Association 1667 K Street, NW 202.457.

0480 voice
Suite 700 202.457.0486 fax
Washington, DC www.npra.org
20006

January 19, 2010

OSHA Docket Office

Technical Data Center, Room N-2625
US Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Submitted via www.regulations.org

Re: Docket ID – OSHA-2009-0023 – Combustible Dust

Dear Docket Clerk:

NPRA, the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, is a national trade association with 450 members,
including those who own or operate virtually all U.S. refining capacity, as well as most of the nation’s petrochemical
manufacturers with processes similar to those of refiners. NPRA appreciates the opportunity to submit comments on
Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Combustible
Dust that was published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2009 (74 Federal Register 54334-54347).

NPRA’s members strive continually to improve their safety performance and are committed to eliminating hazards,
accidents and injuries. NPRA understands that combustible dust is a concern for many industries however, based on
the lack of incidents in the petroleum refining industry from 1980-2008 and the lack of scientific evidence that
indicates that petroleum coke is a combustible dust hazard, NPRA requests that OSHA exclude NAICS code 32411
Petroleum Refining from this standard.

Currently, OSHA has listed NAICS group 324000 as industries that have at least one recorded combustible dust
incident reported since 1980.

NAICS group 32400 includes both coal and petroleum products manufacturing - - two completely different industries
with different products and processes. Coal, unlike petroleum coke, is a product with known combustible dust
hazards. If OSHA proposes to regulate petroleum refining under a combustible dust standard, a substantial showing of
need along with documentation of cost and benefit would be necessary in the docket to adequately support this action.
Furthermore, OSHA should engage the refining industry in a discussion of these issues before subjecting it to a
combustible dust standard.

Petroleum coke is the only product produced at some petroleum refineries that has any resemblance to a dust. Most
petroleum coking processes are located out in the open and do not have the risk of confinement, which is one of the
conditions necessary for an explosion. When petroleum coke is confined, it is saturated with to water prevent
dispersal, another necessary condition for an explosion hazard. In addition, petroleum coke is different than coal coke
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January 19, 2010

or coal dust in terms of its chemical and physical composition. There is a significant quantity of research and testing
on coal dust that demonstrates its explosivity, but no scientific evidence that demonstrates that carbonaceous dusts of
lower hydrocarbon volatility like petroleum coke present a combustible hazard.

OSHA states in their ANPRM that it determined which industries may be affected by an OSHA standard regulating
combustible dust hazards through the identification of industries that had previous incidents relating to combustible
dust. OSHA compiled this list mainly from data provided by the CSB. According to the CSB’s 2006 Combustible
Dust Study, Appendix A, Table 5 that lists dust fires and explosion incidents, there have been no incidents fueled by
petroleum coke at petroleum refineries. There were incidents that were fueled by coal, which may explain OSHA’s
inclusion of NAICS group 324000. In addition, OSHA mentions in the introduction of the proposed rulemaking that
there may be some industries within the listed NAICS groups that do not have significant dust hazards. NPRA
respectfully submits that NAICS code 32411 for Petroleum Refining is one of those industries and requests that OSHA
exclude it from a combustible dust standard. There is no history of incidents relating to combustible dust at petroleum
refineries that would warrant inclusion in this standard.

On May 20, 2008, the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) presented “Dust Explosion Considerations for Refineries” to
the refining industry. The CSB identified the particle size of petroleum coke at 2000+ microns. According to the
CSB’s 2006 Combustible Dust Study, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines a combustible dust as
“[a]ny finely divided solid material that is 420 microns or smaller in diameter (material passing a U.S. No. 40 Standard
Sieve) and [that] presents a fire or explosion hazard when dispersed and ignited in air.” Based on the CSB’s
presentation, petroleum coke particles are much larger than what NFPA would consider a combustible dust. In that
same study, the CSB mentions that the ease of ignition and the severity of combustible dust explosions are typically
influenced by particle size with finer particles being more explosive, concluding that petroleum coke has a low
probability of being a combustible hazard.

NPRA and its members appreciate the opportunity to offer comments on this proposed rule. OSHA is welcome to
contact NPRA for additional information on these comments. Inquiries should be directed to Lara Swett
(lswett@npra.org), (202) 457-0480.

Sincerely,

Lara Swett
Director, Health and Safety
NPRA