Delay Shows OSHA Appears To Find Combustible Dust Rule More Complex Than Expected

An eight-month delay in OSHA efforts to initiate a small business review of its planned regulations to reduce combustible dust hazards in the workplace appears to show the agency's standards division has found the rule more complicated than at the outset of the rulemaking process, according to sources closely following the issue, who also note that the Obama administration at higher levels seems to have little appetite for pushing controversial OSHA rules such as combustible dust for the time being.