GRAMMERCY, La. (AP) -- Imperial Sugar expects to begin removing potentially combustible dust at its powdered sugar operation here on Monday, a company official said.
The dust recently forced the Gramercy plant to shut down that operation.
Chief Executive Officer and President John Sheptor said on Thursday that the cleanup is expected to take a couple of days.
Imperial officials and inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have been discussing the proper method for removing the dust over the last several days, Sheptor said.
OSHA is reviewing Imperial's proposal, which involves using a large vacuum truck to suck out the dust.
Imperial is based in Sugar Land, Texas. The company's Gramercy plant produces around 250,000 pounds of powdered sugar a day. The plant has 370 workers -- 270 employed by Imperial with 100 contractors, Sheptor said.
Six workers work in the powdered sugar section of the plant. Those workers have been temporarily shifted to other areas of the plant.
Experts have said the Feb. 7 blast at Imperial's Georgia refinery, which killed 13 people, was caused when dust ignited. OSHA has since inspected hundreds of plants where combustible dust could be a problem.