Posts Tagged ‘combustible dust’

Combustible Dust: the culprit in Omaha’s explosion?

Friday, January 24th, 2014

When we first heard about the terrible explosion at the International Nutrition animal feed plant in Omaha, Nebraska that claimed two lives and injured many others this week, we had one thought: Combustible dust.
In non-technical terms, combustible dust is any dust from industrial processes that will catch fire and have the potential for explosions in confined spaces. Wikipedia offers this simple explanation of conditions:
There are four necessary conditions for a dust explosion or deflagration:
1. A combustible dust
2. The dust is suspended in the air at a high concentration
3. There is an oxidant (typically atmospheric oxygen)
4. There is an ignition source
There are many sources of ignition – fire, friction, arc flash, hot surfaces and electrostatic discharge. It’s an exposure in many industries: food production, metal processing, wood products chemical, manufacturing, rubber & plastics, coal-fired power plants, to name a few.
OSHA Investigates
Yesterday, Celeste Monforton of The Pump Handle reported that “OSHA and other investigators suspect that an explosion of combustible dust played some role in the disaster.” Her post recounts the OSHA and the Obama administration’s failure to take action on passing a combustible dust standard.

“But month after month, year after year, the Labor Department has failed to act. Last fall, OSHA indicated it plans to take comments in April 2014 from a select group of small business on a draft version of a regulation. That’s a step the agency previously suggested would take place in April 2011, then December 2011, then October 2013, and November 2013.”

Monforton also points to an excellent Center for Public Integrity (CPI) investigation that analyzed data compiled by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, finding that more than 450 accidents involving dust have killed nearly 130 workers and injured another 800-plus, Since 1980, noting that “Both agencies, citing spotty reporting requirements, say these numbers are likely significant understatements.” Here’s the full report: Unchecked dust explosions kill, injure hundreds of workers
In the wake of the Imperial Sugar disaster which killed 14 workers and injured 36, the Chemical Safety Board has produced many reports on combustible dust explosions, including the excellent safety video below.

We also found this short video by FM Global to be compelling.

The text explantion for the video says:
“Did you know that dust can explode?
That is to say any organic material–wood, paper, rubber, fiber, food, tobacco, etc.–can create dust given the right conditions.
In this controlled demonstration at FM Global’s one–of-a-kind Research Campus in West Glocester, RI, the five ingredients needed to cause dust to explode–air, fuel, heat, suspension and confinement–are provided to cause the explosion, or more appropriately, a partial volume deflagration.
Here, one hard hat full (11 lbs. or 5 kg.) of coal dust is placed in a trough approximately 2/3 of the height of the enclosure, which measures 10 ft. wide x 12 ft. deep x 15 ft. high. A small charge was then introduced to disturb and suspend the dust followed by an ignition source (bottle rocket).
Although you may not be able to totally eliminate combustible dust from your process or your facility, there are prevention measures you can take to reduce the frequency of dust fires and explosions. Likewise, control measures can reduce the severity of a fire or explosion. Together, these can help you reduce the likelihood of property damage and business interruption.
Takeaway: If it didn’t start out as a rock, it can explode.”
Find out more about this test in an article Dust to Ashes (PDF) in FM Global’s Reason, page 38.

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Inferno: Combustible dust explosion at Imperial Sugar – video report

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

We recently posted about the Imperial Sugar Company explosion report issued by the US Chemical Safety Board, but more recently we found a video version, which we think is well worth the nine and a half minutes it takes to view it. Using computer graphics, it clearly explains how the accident happened and the conditions that led to it. It should be mandatory viewing by the 100,000 at-risk organizations that have the potential for such explosions, but think “it can’t happen here.”

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Imperial Sugar Refinery report: routine housekeeping might have prevented explosion

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

A year and a half after the Imperial Sugar combustible dust explosion, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) issued its final report on the explosion, which killed 14 workers and injured 36 others, leaving some with permanent, life-altering conditions. In short, the CSB found inadequate housekeeping and maintenance, largely preventable conditions. In addition, CSB found inadequate emergency evacuation plans. The linked article from WTOC-TV above has a summary with photos, as well as related stories. Or you can read the entire 89-page Investigation Report – Sugar Dust Explosion and Fire – Imperial Sugar Company (PDF).
The initial explosion occurred in a closed steel conveyor belt, triggering a series of secondary explosions and fireball eruptions throughout the buildings. The fatalities occurred in the secondary explosions.
Last year, OSHA proposed $8.7 million in fines on the company for more than 100 violations, fines that Imperial Sugar is currently battling in court.
As part of the report, the CSB recommended that OSHA establish mandatory standards for combustible dust. Critics say that this recommendation isn’t strong enough, and that OSHA’s current rule making process will take too long. They note that under a federal workplace safety law, OSHA can adopt an emergency temporary standard, which would circumvent the red tape to get something in place quickly.
A good source of information on combustible dust is the Combustable Dust Policy Institute blog. This blog states that although OSHA lists 30,000 facilities in its National Emphasis Program, there are actually more than 100,000 facilities at risk, which includes many national industries not listed in the Dust NEP. They track media accounts of combustible dust incidents, and found that last year, about 50% of the incidents occurred in national industries not referenced in the OSHA’s dust NEP. Another source of information that we turn to on combustible dust and other public health issues is the excellent blog, The Pump Handle, which provides informed commentary from experts.
For another perspective on the Imperial Sugar explosion, the Joseph M. Stiller Burn Center included Battling Big Burns: The Imperial Sugar Company Fire (PDF) in its summer 2008 newsletter. The article offers an overview of the complexity of issues involved in managing large disasters, including issues directly related to caring for critically burned patients.

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News Roundup: trouble in FL; medical apartheid; exclusive remedy in NJ; regulators caving, and more

Monday, April 14th, 2008

Trouble brewing in Florida – Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters is looking at a proposed regulation in Florida for hospital reimbursement and he is not liking what he sees. He says its a situation that is likely to “scare the pants off you.”
Medical apartheid – Richard Eskow of Sentinel Effect posts about recent studies by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, which show extreme disparities in medical care for whites and black. Of the studies, the South Florida Times states: “… elderly black and Hispanic patients often received substandard care for common but serious conditions like heart attacks, congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Researchers say their data suggests that the nation’s healthcare system is racially and ethnically segregated, not just for the elderly, but across the board.”
Troubling questions about regulators and public health interests – are regulators who are charged with protecting the health and safety of American workers and the general public succumbing to political and corporate pressure? Liz Borkowski of The Pump Handle blogs about a CBS investigation into why why the Centers for Disease Control slashed its Beryllium Study. In raising the question of whether officials ceded to political and corporate pressure in downscaling a health study of residents living near Brush Wellman’s largest beryllium-manufacturing plant, CBS questions whether the CDC “put politics before public health concerns.”
Recent reporting in the Las Vegas Sun investigates OSHA’s practice of reversing its findings and cutting fines for employers involved in construction fatalities. Reporters found nine instances where penalties for safety violations related to these fatalities had been scaled back after OSHA officials met privately with contractors. This reporting is the second part of a two-part series on construction deaths in Nevada. The first segment entitled Pace is the New Peril looks at a recent building boom that has claimed the lives of nine workers in sixteen months.
Exclusive remedy prevails in NJ – a suit for damages against a NJ employer was dismissed by the state’s superior court in the case of a driver who was struck by a vehicle while unloading supplies from his truck. The employee had sued claiming gross negligence on the part of his employer as well as the company where the delivery occurred, stating that he had not been provided cones or flares and had alerted his employer about the safety problems that existed at this particular delivery spot. In so deciding, judges said there was not enough evidence in the case to show the companies “deliberately intended to harm (Dadura) or knew that the consequences of its inaction were substantially certain to result in harm.” In most states, there is a very high bar for piercing exclusive remedy – employer negligence would have to reach a level of being intentional or certain.
Combustible Dust bill – Last week, a House Education and Labor Committee passed a bill that would require OSHA to issue an interim final standard regulating combustible industrial dust within 90 days and a finalized standard within 18 months. This progress represents only one hurdle however – the bill still must gain House and Senate approval in the face of significant opposition.
Soldiers suffering high rate of mental health problems – The New York Times reports that army leaders are concerned about the mental health of soldiers who face multiple deployments to Iraq. More than 197,000 have deployed more than once, and more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times. According to an Army survey of combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress. This means that American employers should expect a high rate of PTSD for citizen soldier veterans when they return to the workplace.

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