Metal Combustible Dust Particle Size

Information in Material Safety Data Sheets concerning fire hazards of most combustible particulate solids and the combustible dusts generated in the manufacturing process is absent in most instances. The definition of a combustible dust as defined by NFPA 654 is:

"Any finely divided solid material that is 420 microns or smaller in diameter (material passing a U.S. No. 40 Standard Sieve) and presents a fire or explosion hazard when dispersed and ignited in air." The same definition is used for combustible metal dust in NFPA 484, Standard for Combustible Metals, Metal Powders, and Metal Dusts.

Additionally, OSHA's Safety and Health Information Bulletin (SHIB), "Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions," published in 2005 states:

"That one possible source for information on combustibility is the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the material. In some cases, additional information such as test results will be available from chemical manufacturers."

But thats were the problem arises, MSDS's, don't have the vital fire and safety information concerning combustible dust and laboratory testing is very costly. It's highly advised to have testing conducted as soon as possible . Until the facility management completes testing there is one alternative that the Combustible Dust Policy Institute has found most helpful concerning metal combustible dusts in the fabricated metal product manufacturing industries when determining if finely divided solid material is 420 microns or smaller in diameter .

For example, Atlantic Equipment Engineers has provided on their website a metal product technical data reference for over 120 metal powders and compounds. While browsing the numerous metal powders its quite easy in determining the product size of many many powders used in industry. Any US Sieve Series and Tyler Mesh Size higher than 40 would rank the powder as a combustible dust .

For a helpful review of micron powder particle size in relation to mesh size, here is a helpful link:
ESPICorp Inc.

Hope that helps in clarifying particle size in determining if your metal dust is a combustible dust or not. Until then, as soon as possible schedule a testing of your process dust for ignition sensitivity and explosion severity.

Resources:
NFPA 484, Standard for Combustible Metals, Metal Powders, and Metal Dusts

Map Combustible Dust Explosions 2007 & 2006

Here are a few helpful links of Google Maps regarding combustible dust related explosions and fires during 2007 and 2006.The data included in the Google Maps was obtained from Chemical Safety Board incident data. The Combustible Dust Policy Institute did not start collecting incident data until after the Imperial Sugar Refinery dust explosion in February 2008.

Google Map 2007

Google Map 2006

Here at the Combustible Dust Policy Institute, we will continue to provide updated information on the extent of combustible dust incidents throughout the process manufacturing industries. With knowledge of the prevalence of such incidents, all stakeholders can take appropriate preventative measures in protecting life and property.

Dozens Combustible Dust Fatalities and Injuries Unaccounted

As H.R. 5522, the Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act bill moves to the House floor shortly, dozens of fatalities and injuries are unaccounted for. Legislators, governmental agencies, and industry trade associations only have a partial picture of the magnitude of the threat posed to the workplace by the hidden dangers of combustible dusts.

Over the past decade 14 documented fatalities and 47 injuries have occurred in two dozen combustible dust explosions and fires that were not included in the official 2006 Chemical Safety Board Combustible Dust Study. Many of the incidents were not cleared for public release due to pending court cases. With the passage of time this information now becomes available to the public through governmental databases.

Chemical Safety Board

The Chemical Safety Board has provided the public with an excellent service considering their limited annual budget of less than $10 million dollars. Most of the workplace accidents consisting of fires and explosions go uninvestigated by the CSB due to limited resources. Innovation combined with computer technology the agency provides helpful feedback to the workplace on root causes of accidents so they don’t occur again. Most helpful to the process industries are the DVD’s that are offered free of charge which are excellent safety training tools for veterans and newcomers to the industry.

As a federal independent investigative agency, the CSB is limited in breath and depth while conducting research on past incidents. Especially troublesome is the absence of central database with records of workplace accidents consisting of fires and explosions. Concerning the Combustible Dust Hazard Study, the CSB did not represent the data as complete or error-free. Especially since the combustible dust incidents were only a small sampling.

Recent Studies

Over the past two months, the Combustible Dust Policy Institute has completed cursory research on combustible dust explosions and fires and picked up were the CSB combustible dust studies ended. Over that past ten weeks since the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion there have been over 30 combustible dusts related fires and explosions.

Hundreds of Incidents

Currently, many stakeholders both opponents and proponents of the proposed Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act, H.R. 5522, are under the assumption that there has been approximately 350 combustible dust fires and explosions since 1980. This is a very small sampling and a closer number would be approximately 3500 combustible dust explosions and fires over the last 28 years.

Either the earth, moon, sun, and planets were aligned in some unusual manner for the nearly three dozen combustible dust incidents to occur over the past ten weeks or now we have a better picture of the extent of the complex subject of combustible dust incidents occurring in the nation’s manufacturing process industries.

Resources

Chemical Safety Board

OSHA Integrated Management Information System database

Failure Knowledge Database-JST

An excellent resource in studying the cause an effects of accidents can be found at the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST website. Under the direction of Professor Yotaro Hatamura (Kogakuin Univ.), a Failure Knowledge Database was developed. Several of the incidents involve combustible dusts and it is very helpful browsing and reviewing all the incidents. This would be a fantastic tool to implement in the United States in assisting industry in the prevention of reoccurring predictable and preventable ComDustX accidents. Question is, who would enter the data and would the manufacturing industry provide such hush-hush information?

Costly Information
Currently, in order to learn about combustible dusts, one has to spend hundreds of dollars to attend out-of-state educational sessions at conferences and seminars. Many stakeholders which include millions of workers in the manufacturing industries, don't have several weeks of their paycheck to spend for such an outlay on these educational endeavors. More information needs to be available freely on the Internet, like the Japan Science and Technology Agency has provided.

Global Resources
On the other side of the globe, the Berufsgenossenschaftliches Institut für Arbeitsschutz - BGIA in Germany has a free database of combustion and explosion characteristics of dusts from more than 4000 dust samples across a wide spectrum of industries. Why doesn't the United States have such a database? Up until 1996, the U.S. Bureau of Mines was the primary organization conducting scientific research and providing information on combustible dusts. Now, after over a decade, the agency is gone with no replacement . Where is the leadership in government in providing the data that our industrial infrastructure needs?

Standardization-Transparency
Instead the nation has to resort to Acts of Congress, like an act of war in providing safety standards regarding workplace safety issues. Standardization in preventive and mitigative measures is only one aspect of the pyramid. Transparency and ease in availability of vital information is also required. For example, you have two manufacturing processes exactly alike. One on the East Coast, the other on the West Coast. Suppose a ComDustX incident occurs on the West Coast due too a static electricity source. Wouldn't it be prudent to share that information with the entire industry in the prevention of future electrostatic ComDustX incidents? But no, this isn't done in the U.S., it takes several years for information availability.

Global Collaboration
Japan and Germany are just two countries which are also our global trading and security partners. There are many other nations spanning the globe that governmental, industry, and academia need to collaborate with concerning the complex subject of ComDustX. Why waste time and other resources if specialized work and programs have already been successfully implemented? A global Internet revolution on combustible dust is in order.

California ComDustX Record Outstanding

How can one state that has over 13% of the nation's 333,460 manufacturing establishments, according to U.S Census Bureau 2005 data, maintain such a superb record of minimal combustible dust incidents? Across the board in the food, metal, wood, chemical, plastics/rubber, and textile industries, California has stayed off the radar with no incidents over the last two months. Either ComDust incidents are not being reported by the local press or industry must have a instituted a phenomenal preventive and mitigative combustible dust safety program.

Currently California has four times as many manufacturing facilities (44,825) than 84% of the 50 states in the union. Over the past 10 weeks since the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion there has been over 30 combustible dust related fires and explosions occurring across a wide spectrum of industries throughout the United States from coast to coast. The revealing aspect is in over 45% of these incidents, California has the leading number of establishments in the following distinct industries were incidents have occurred in other states. Yet none in California.

How can this be? The math doesn't compute, since it seems if you have the leading number of industries, then shouldn't the state lead in ComDust incidents?

• Breakfast Cereal Manufacturing
• Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing
• Dry, Condensed, and Evaporated Dairy Product Manufacturing

• Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
• Other Millwork (including Flooring
• Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
• Nonupholstered Wood Household Furniture Manufacturing

• Electroplating, Plating, Polishing, Anodizing, and Coloring

• Nonwoven Fabric Mills
• Thread Mills

• Dental Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing

• Adhesive Manufacturing
• Urethane and Other Foam Product (except Polystyrene) Manufacturing

Currently, the Combustible Dust Policy Institute is reviewing governmental historical data from various agencies in the determination of abnormal trends in specific industries and locales where combustible dust incidents occur. The results will assist in managing resources where ComDustX hot spots occur and strategically direct stakeholders in an efficient manner in conjunction with lowering operating costs.

For instance, in the wet corn milling industry (NAICS) 311221, the Chemical Safety Board Combustible Dust Hazard Study collected data on 21 ComDust incidents from the period 1980-2005 in this industry. The wet corn milling industry has 66 establishments nationwide, employing nearly 9,000 workers in this food manufacturing subsector according to governmental data from 2005.

Iowa, the leading state with 12 establishments had 5 of the 21 incidents during the above noted period. In contrast, Illinois with 4 wet corn milling facilities had 7 incidents (33%) of the 21 incidents. Why does one state with three times as many establishments as the other, have 30% less occurrences of ComDustX incidents?

States with good records of low incident rates could possibly collaborate with high incident rate states in the reduction of future ComDustX incidents. A central clearing house could be developed across a wide spectrum of industries in facilitating future administrative controls. Regulations are only a temporary fix unless communication is maintained between industry stakeholders when dealing with the complex subject of combustible dust.

Cost Estimate: ComDustx and Fire Prevention Act

Heres the latest on the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of H.R. 5522, Combustible Dust Explosion and Fire Prevention Act of 2008. Click on the link below for the informative 2 page .pdf file that was released by the CBO, 17 April 2008.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE .pdf file