The Teamsters claim that OSHA under the Bush administration has ignored the 2006 recommendation from CSB to issue a rule that would have prevented this and other combustible explosions. In 2006, CSB conducted a major study of combustible dust hazards following three worksite dust explosions that killed 14 workers in 2003. The CSB report noted that a quarter of the explosions between 1980 and 2005 occurred at food industry facilities, including sugar plants.

According to CSB Investigations Manager Stephen Selk, “The Board identified 281 fires and explosions over a 25-year period that took 119 lives and caused 718 injuries. Some 24% of these incidents took place in the food industry. CSB made several recommendations-including recommendations to OSHA-which OSHA has so far partly acted on.” Selk adds, “But the tragic event that occurred here in Savannah demonstrates that the problem of dust explosions in industry has yet to be solved. It is a problem that requires further attention.”