Dust Explosions-Not Cleared For Public Release

Its a bit odd and bewildering how data of combustible dust explosions in the Chemical Safety Board, Combustible Dust Hazard Investigation Report that was submitted to OSHA in November 2006 did not include the fatalities and injuries such as the incident that occurred at a Reconstituted Wood Product Manufacturing plant in Mount Jewett, PA back in February 2001. How can appropiate layers of protection be implemented in the workplace if stakeholders do not know the probability and severity of occurrences if full transparency of the complex combustible dust issue is not adhered to?

Incident # 190, which occurred 2/14/2001, is listed in the CSB Dust Incident Data File. But the description is omitted with the statement, "Information not cleared for public release. " How can that be, with the vital information not cleared, when adjacent to the date of the incident is the OSHA Activity Number which provides a description of the above incident and many others labeled "not cleared for public release."?

OSHA has been citing facilities for combustible dust hazards many years prior to the series of catastrophic dust explosions that occurred in 2003. These citations referenced the NFPA Combustible Dust Standards utilizing the General Duty Clause. OSHA through national consensus continues to cite facilities for combustible dust hazards with the power of the General Duty Clause.

Subsequently, OSHA needs to thoroughly review CSB's helpful recommendations in addition to instituting other layers of protection that will provide sufficient preventative and mitigative measures for the workplace in regards to combustible dust hazards. It shouldn't take an Act of Congress with the reissued combustible dust bill to get the ball rolling. Hopefully with the new administration and appointees within OSHA's leadership structure the entire combustible dust issue will be reevaluated in proper context.

The first step must be revising the Combustible Dust NEP so as to reflect the reality of the majority of incidents (over 60%) occuring in national industries (NAICS) not listed in the NEP. OSHA Region 4 has set an excellent example inspecting facilities for dust hazards that are not listed in the Dust NEP. A good rule of thumb would be if a facility has a dust collector on the premises, then there is a potential for a combustible dust related explosion or fire. Think of a dust collector as a hand grenade with the pin pulled and all that is needed next is an ignition source when the lever is released. That just might get everyone's attention with this sort of proactive attitude.

No matter how stringent OSHA enforcement and inspection activities are pursued, combustible dust explosions and fires will continue to occur. Legislators who drafted the current reissued combustible dust bill have all the great intentions in preventing further fatalities and injuries as occurred at Imperial Sugar Refinery last year. But the reality which they must be educated to understand is that dust explosions and fires cannot be totally prevented. Only the probability and severity can be reduced.

A good example is the ethanol plant explosion earlier this month in Hastings, Nebraska with the grain grinder explosion resulting in two injuries. Ethanol plants have the most stringent governmental regulations protecting the worker, public ,and environment with the EPA Risk Management Program (RMP), OSHA Process Safety Management Standard (PSM), in addition to the OSHA Grain Facility Standard. It doesn't get any more stringent than this. The current combustible dust bill as written won't even come close to providing this much of protection. Ironically, with all the layers of protection in this industry, it has the highest rate of explosions and fires over the past twelve months than any of the other 426 national industries (NAICS) in the manufacturing sector.

The current position that legislators and the CSB of possible protective measures is a great start. But should not be the sole solution, especially when other important aspects of the very complex and dynamic combustible dust hazard issue is not also addressed to the full extent. Hopefully insight from continued in-depth research on combustible dust related fires and explosions that the Combustible Dust Policy Institute is conducting will provide additional helpful information on a broad horizon useful to all stakeholders.

Quaker Oats Blows It's Top

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/NEWS/233198211/1006/news

Around sunrise as hearty Iowans were beginning their workday with the freezing and brisk morning commute in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa a dust explosion rocked the eight floor of the prominent Quaker Oats facility, which has been a landmark on the east bank on the Cedar River for over a century.

Luckily no injuries occurred and it only brought back a brief stark reminder of a catastrophic dust explosion that occurred in Cedar Rapids, nearly a century ago on May 19, 1919 at the Douglas Starch Works, where a dust explosion leveled the building causing 48 fatalities. Prior to 1899 George Douglas was a partner with the principles of North Star Milling, the predecessor of Quaker Oats founded in 1873.

Smiley Face

The familiar friendly face on that red, white, and blue Quaker Oats box in our cupboard has a rich history and there is nothing happier in the morning than crunching on a bowl of Cap”n Crunch (Quaker Oats product) to get the day started. The risks involved in getting the thousands of happy faces started in the morning are another story.

Handling food products in the manufacturing process produces inherent dangers with the seemingly harmless combustible dusts that are generated in the workplace. So who would have thought something as harmless as sugar, like earlier last month at Imperial Sugar in Georgia, would have the explosive power of another 9/11?

City-State Not Immune

Iowa has not been immune to these dangers as there have been over a dozen dust explosions over the last twenty years in the state according to the 2006 Chemical Safety Board’s Combustible Dust Hazard Investigation. Since 1991, in Cedar Rapids, there have been six dust explosions at wet corn milling, starch, bakery mix, cereal, and animal by-product plants. Luckily, no injuries just a lot of broken glass and rattled nerves and time to think more about prevention in the future.

Cause’s and ignition sources range from fires, spontaneous combustion, sparks, hot metal, and unknown. Over half of dust explosions never end up in a determination of causes due to the destruction that is wracked on the facility. Yet static electricity would be a good place to start. Are the workers wearing anti-static clothing in addition to anti-static floor covering as found in many hospitals in preventing potential explosions?

Voluntary OSHA Compliance

Voluntary measures of anti-static clothing only go so far in prevention as it is not required at facilities that generate combustible dusts. Additionally the operating costs for companies would be exorbitant in the investment of anti-static flooring coverings, which would fiercely eat into quarterly earnings statements.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to voluntary standards that the National Fire Protection Association lists in their numerous fire codes in handling metal, food, plastics, rubber, coal, wood, and other combustible particulate solids that generate combustible dusts. For instance, there are many more issues in contrast to explosion prevention which leads to explosion mitigation and covers ventilation, isolation, and suppression of dust explosions in milliseconds.

Myth or Dream

That’s where the real big bucks enter into the picture. Think of it as an entire industry rising from the ashes like the mythological Phoenix where a cottage industry of explosion protection devices is installed at all facilities generating combustible dusts and the idea of a future dust explosion would be decreased immensely. But that is only a dream such as a myth.

Threat From Within

Since the Homeland Security Act was passed in 2002, billions of dollars have been spent by government and industry in providing protection from outside threats. But what about protection from inside the nation where worker fatalities, injuries, and devastating economic impact occurs on a regular basis?

A major concern is that the Occupational Health and Safety Act was passed nearly four decades ago and it has yet to live up to the lofty goals of aggressively attacking the continual occurrence of fatalities and injuries in the workplace. Instead there is a patchwork of voluntary compliance and alliances with industry.

Labor or Industry

This mode of operation was reinforced during the March 12, 2008 hearing at the House Committee of Education and Labor on the HR 5522 "The Combustible Dust Fire and Explosion Prevention Act of 2008.” Where industry and business through the voice of the powerful and omnipresent U.S, Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing 3,000,000 businesses reiterated their position that a OSHA comprehensive dust standard is not a viable action.

Until an OSHA comprehensive combustible dust standard in the protection of workers and the workplace is instituted more preventable and predictable dust explosions and fires will occur. Since the catastrophic explosion at Imperial Sugar six weeks ago resulting in 13 fatalities there has been nearly two dozen additional combustible dust incidents. Maybe the dust explosion at Quaker Oats will be wake up call for immediate action as the kindred spirits Douglas Starch Works and Imperial Sugar look on.

Down Under Combustible Dust Fire

It appears that combustible dust fires and explosions are not limited to the United States as this news release from Australia informs us here on the other side of the equator.

Fire crews are confident they have extinguished a fire in recycled milk powder at the Fonterra Milk processing plant at Darnum in West Gippsland. Fire investigators believed it was caused by spontaneous combustion in a four storey high hopper.



Example: 40 pounds of powdered milk meets up with his buddies at the fire triangle. Their partner, confinement, was not feeling well and decided to stay inside.

Since the Dixie Crystal sugar refinery explosion in Georgia last month, there has been quite a bit of dialog between a diverse group of stakeholders which includes government legislators, enforcement agencies, and labor unions concerning what preventive measures should be taken to prevent future incidents. So far there has been no word from business organizations concerning impending costly preventive legislation in preventing future catastrophic dust explosions.

Luckily in this incident the explosion prevention equipment was functioning properly and only a fire ensued. Back in February 1980, a powdered milk mill in Minneapolis, Minnesota was not so lucky when the mill was destroyed by an explosion when an employee lowered a drop cord into a bin of powdered milk to see if it was empty. A conveyor was running at the bottom of the bin. The drop cord got caught in the conveyor and caused the explosion. The explosion spread throughout the steel bins and the warehouse causing 1 fatality and 8 injuries.

Source:ABC Gippsland

Fire in a tower of milk powder