Spooner Explosion-Dust or Vapor?

The catastrophic Tuesday chemical plant explosion at the Cortec aerosol can filling facility in Spooner, Wisconsin is still a mystery to local, state, and federal investigators. Luckily, most of the workers were in the break room when the mysterious explosion destroyed the facility. Yet two injuries occurred with the burn victims still in the hospital.

Cortec is a global leader in corrosion protection technology with its proprietary vapor-phase corrosion inhibitors. VCIs are environmentally friendly organic chemicals that condense on metal surfaces, creating an invisible barrier to moisture. Products that are filled in aerosol cans include rust removers, rust preventers, biodegradable cleaners, and degreasers.

With hundreds of diverse corrosion protection products manufactured at their other facilities, Cortec provides corrosion protection products for over 70 countries in conjunction 500 local distributors. For instance, NASA uses the products’ on the space shuttle and the U.S. military has a multitude of uses for the products in the adverse conditions which it operates whether land, sea, or air.

Normally aerosol can filling can be a potentially dangerous operation in the manufacturing process. Yet Cortec has alleviated that hazardous aspect with its EcoAir aerosol can product which utilizes unique technology in the form of aerosol products that are powered by compressed air which is not flammable. So how did the facility explode if it doesn’t use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), dimethyl ether (DME), difluoroethane (DFE), or butane as a aerosol propellant?

That’s the mystery. Additionally, newspapers have stated through witness accounts, that no one can recall smelling any vapor such as a flammable gas leak. Furthermore, a business owner across the street heard a primary explosion then a larger secondary explosion followed by the huge fire.

Is it possible that the vapor corrosion inhibitor (VCI) in a dust form, prior to filling the aerosol cans, had accumulated over a period of time on overhead surfaces and ledges unbeknownst to plant management and the workers? That’s the big question even with the aisles and passageways spotless through conscientious housekeeping yet a hidden danger could be lurking above.

Metal Combustible Dust Fires Rage On

Combustible dust fires across the nation have been an ongoing trend over the past six weeks since the catastrophic Dixie Crystal Sugar Refinery explosion last month.

"MUSKEGON COUNTY — A fire that started early this morning at the Port City Industrial Finishing Inc. plant in Muskegon caused about $120,000 in damage, fire officials estimate."

In this incident lady luck held the high cards with no injuries nor fatalities at a facility that polished aluminum used for Harley-Davidson parts.

The last combustible dust incident occurred a week earlier at Custom Alloy Corporation in High Bridge, New Jersy when a fire ensued inside an enclosed dust collector in a metal-grinding room.

"Firefighters wearing protective breathing gear had to take apart the collector to extinguish burning metal particles inside. Smith said a small dust explosion occurred during the fire."

In that incident the small dust explosion occurred while fire teams were fighting the fire. Luckily, Fire Chief Jeffrey Smith's team of over 70 firefighters from the boroughs of Quakertown, Lebanon, Lebanon Township, Califon, Glen Gardner, Hampton, and High Bridge Rescue walked away unscathed.

The hazards of combustible particulate solids (CPS) and the combustible dusts that are generated in manufacturing processes can become deadly with the explosive power of gunpowder when suspended and in a confined space of the shop floor and exposed to an ignition source such as static electricity at the seemingly harmless millijoule level.

Tens of thousands of workers across the nation will arrive at work tomorrow morning with no idea of the dangers they are exposed to when handling metal, food, feed, grain, textile, paper, and other harmless bulk materials (combustible particulate solids) prior to initiating the manufacturing process. It's only when the materials in their raw form begin to be processed (combustible dust) that the dangers set in.

Thats when the dust begins to accumulate on the shop floor, ledges, hard to reach spots, and eventually suspension in the air. All that is missing for a combustible dust incident is ignition. In the right conditions with a worker walking across the shop floor, 10 millijoules of charge can be generated and touching the right spot 1000-2000 picofarads can jump across an ungrounded surface and hopefully lady luck is nearby.

Either way in some form or other, across all industries spread throughout the nation, approximately 15 of those workers will never make it to the time clock and eventually home alive to see there loved ones, lady luck won't be kind to them.

Google Map Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires

Inconsistencies with OSHA General Industry Standards

Combustible dust explosions and fires continue at facilities throughout the United States in alarming regularity. Since the tragic Dixie Crystal sugar refinery explosion there has already been over a dozen combustible dust related explosions and fires with resulting fatalities, injuries and further economic impact to local communities. The current OSHA regulatory and enforcement scheme in preventing this predictable loss is currently not working.

Since 2005, the agency has published and distributed a Combustible Dust Safety and Health Information Bulletin, trained inspectors, implemented a combustible dust national emphasis program, and even most recently published a web page solely devoted to the hazards of combustible dusts.

Currently the attitude of upper management in the agency is solely energized toward self compliance through outreach programs and industry alliances. In the meantime preventable accidents like Dixie Crystal in proportion to a 7.0 earthquake in an urban area are still occurring. Minutes, hours, and days are ticking by before the next catastrophic dust explosion occurs in our nation.

Even at a recent House committee hearing of the Education and Labor, where Congressman George Miller introduced legislation, H.R. 5522, the "Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008. There was still an unwilling nature in the attitude of Edwin Foulke, the Director of OSHA during his testimony to move forward with a comprehensive combustible dust standard as recommended by the Chemical Safety Board.

A wait and see attitude until after the investigation of the Dixie Crystal was the most forthcoming pronouncement of Director Foulke. How many more investigations need to be completed before OSHA recognizes the hazards of combustible dust, where housekeeping alone will not put an end to future incidents? Already nearly 30 years ago, OSHA commissioned the National Academy of Sciences to conduct studies on the hazards of combustible dusts and the results where unanimous, combustible dust causes fires and explosion. From that study the 1987 OSHA Grain Facility Combustible Dust Standard was born. Why not now a general industry comprehensive combustible dust standard?

Currently the OSHA general industry standards of ventilation, housekeeping, hazardous locations, and hazardous communications are very weak and not sufficient in protecting facilities in the United States from future dust explosions and fires. Facility owners, plant managers, and workers must consult and review the numerous National Fire Protection Association codes in the prevention and mitigation of future incidents. Included in this post are major points that need to be considered. It’s highly recommended to read online NFPA 654: Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids.

Document : Combustible Dust Protection: Inconsistencies with OSHA General Industry Standards.pdf file

State Dust Emphasis Programs Voluntary

Get er' Done

Nearly half the nation is unprotected concerning having the proper knowledge concerning the hazards of combustible particulate solids and the resulting combustible dusts. For instance, OSHA instituted a Combustible Dust National Emphasis (NEP) Program in October 2007, which provides health and safety inspectors with the background information needed in conducting facility inspections and informing industry of combustible dust hazards in 28 states. This is all fine and dandy.

Yet in the other 22 states with approved State OSHA programs, federal inspectors are not involved only state inspectors work in this area. Additionally, State plan participation in this national emphasis effort is strongly encouraged but is not required. Strongly encouraged means voluntary, which is the heart of the problem.

For example, North and South Carolina, and Kentucky have no local emphasis program for combustible dusts. Since the Dixie Crystal sugar Refinery explosion there has been two combustible dust related incidents in these states at rubber and textile facilities.



View Larger Map

Map State OSHA Programs

Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee are in the process of adopting local emphasis programs for combustible dust hazards. Hopefully other states that have their own OSHA program will follow suit. For others that are under the federal National Emphasis Program, it will take additional congressional appropriations so that OSHA can hire additional inspectors to insure the nation's industrial infrastructure is secure.

OSHA Grain Facility Standard-Poor Results

Since the OSHA grain facility standard was promulgated in 1987 agricultural dust explosions, fatalities, and injuries have continued at nearly the same rate as general industry combustible dust explosions For example, utilizing data compiled by Dr. Robert W. Schoeff, Kansas State University, in cooperation with FGIS-USDA, during the period 1980-2005 there as been on the average of 15 annual agricultural dust explosions at grain elevators, corn processors, feed, flour and rice mills.

1980-2005	Grain Facility Explosions	General Industry Explosions
Number	368	281
Fatalities	63	119
Injuries	382	718

In contrast, the Chemical Safety Board completed a two year study which spanned the same period while investigating dust explosions in general industry and determined on the average 11 dust explosions occurred annually. So how is it that a multitude of agricultural dust explosions are still occurring even after an OSHA grain facility standard was implemented over two decades ago.?

In all fairness, since the grain standard was instituted in 1987, fatalities and injuries from agricultural dust explosions have been reduced by nearly 50 % , with incidents decreasing by 30 % on an annual average. But why is there still an explosion occurring nearly every month somewhere across our nations' heartland?

Grain Explosions	1979-1988	1989-1998
Number	20 /yr	14 / year
Fatalities	5 /yr	2 /year
Injuries	27 /yr	13 /year

Current OSHA health and safety regulations are clearly not preventing workplace injuries and fatalities. Most recently, from the ten year period 1996-2005, there were 106 grain facility dust explosions, resulting in 16 fatalities and 126 injuries, resulting in over $ 162 million dollars in economic damage.

So should it be up to the federal government to reduce further dust explosions in all industries; especially if current regulations are not working ? Many stakeholders believe governmental regulatory intervention is counterproductive and only raises the cost of business operations resulting in higher prices in finished products to the consumer.

An entire review and governmental audit of current OSHA grain facility standards is in order. The time has come in providing business management personnel and the workforce with updated Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)'s, which provide information on the explosive properties of all combustible particulate solids like corn, soybeans, wheat, etc. Information such as minimum explosive concentration (MIC), minimum ignition temperature (MIT), and KSt (normalized rate of pressure rise) included in the MSDS's would be beneficial in the hazard communication process.

United States Agricultural Dust Explosion Information

Combustible Dust NEP-Not All There?

Had to read it twice...maybe I initially misread it between the lines. No, No... it all there but not all there. Over half the states in the union are not required to participate in OSHA's Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP)

VI. Federal Program Change. EFFECTIVE DATE: October 18, 2007
...State plan participation in this national emphasis effort is strongly encouraged but is not required. State response/notice of intent regarding this directive is required....

Learn something new everyday. So how is the nation fully covered by the current effort that OSHA is projecting in protecting the health and safety of workers in regards to the hazards of combustible dusts? Especially when only half the nation's workplace is covered. Last time I checked, there were fifty stars in the blue union of the American Flag.