As of March 7, 2010, the State of Georgia has put in place stricter regulations governing companies that produce, process, or handle combustible particulate solids.

The new "Rules and Regulations for Loss Prevention Due to Combustible Dust Explosions and Fire" (combustible dust law) requires affected facilities to:

• register with the state beginning July 1, 2010;
• designate a safety officer for fire safety information and training coordination;
• create emergency plans and procedures;
• train employees by January 1, 2011; and
• comply with applicable fire safety standards (i.e. International Fire Code Standard (IFC) and applicable National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes/standards).

Violators will be subject to civil fines and could face enforcement action by fire code officials.

"This new regulation in Georgia could pave the way for other states, and even the U.S. government, to take similar action. Organizations with combustible dust exposures should review their operations and take a proactive approach to managing their combustible dust risk before additional regulations are finalized," advised Mark Runyon, Property Risk Consulting Practice, Marsh Risk Consulting (MRC).  "There are many sound elements of loss prevention that make good sense to apply as risk management best practice."

Robert Ferer, Property Risk Consulting, MRC, added, "We have assisted numerous clients with identifying the 'root cause' of combustible dust hazards, qualifying hazards, and developing risk mitigation strategies to eliminate or reduce this hazard."

The new combustible dust law follows a sequence of events after a Georgia sugar plant blast in February 2008.