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Combustible dust is a significant risk factor for explosions and flash fires. According to insurer FM Global, the damages and human injury costs are very high. The combustible dust accidents their clients suffered between 2007 and 2011 totaled an estimated $336 million in losses, an average of $5.3 million per occurrence. Between 1980 and 2022, over 1,180 injuries and 194 fatalities were caused by 495 combustible dust incidents in the United States.
The risk of combustible dust fires and explosions affects all dust-producing facilities in the food and beverage, textiles, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and the mining industry. To get a sense of the magnitude of a dust explosion, read what the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) Investigations Manager Stephen Selk, P.E., said during a public meeting on the investigation of the 2008 sugar refinery explosion:
“When a dust explosion occurs in a building, walls may blow out, floors may heave, and ceilings may collapse. This can all occur in a few seconds. It is therefore not unusual for local fire protection and electrical systems to be almost instantly crippled. Occupants may at first find themselves burned, or blown about, or struck, or among rubble. At worst they may experience all of that. At first they may find themselves in darkness or the obscurity of smoke. But fires initiated by the thermal energy of the explosion may follow and grow.”
These eight incidents were investigated by the CSB. Altogether, 41 individuals lost their lives, and 142 more were injured.
On January 29, 2003, an explosion and fire destroyed a North Carolina pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, causing six deaths, dozens of injuries, and hundreds of job losses.
On February 20, 2003, an explosion and fire damaged a Kentucky fiberglass insulation manufacturing plant, fatally injuring seven workers.
On October 29, 2003, a series of explosions severely burned two workers, injured a third, and caused property damage to an automotive parts manufacturer in Indiana.
On February 7, 2008, a huge explosion and fire occurred at a sugar refinery in Georgia, causing 14 deaths and injuring 38 others, including 14 with serious and life-threatening burns.
On December 9, 2010, an explosion at a titanium plant in West Virginia fatally injured three workers.
In 2011, three accidents occurred at a powdered metals plant in Gallatin, TN, where flash fires and an explosion killed five workers and injured three others.
On October 9, 2012, an explosion and fire injured seven workers at an ink facility.
On May 31, 2017, an explosion and fire at a dry corn milling facility in Wisconsin killed five employees and injured 14 others.
A lack of hazard recognition, dust hazard analysis, incident investigation, engineering controls, operating procedures, process safety information, and training were consistently linked as the root causes.
There is the potential for multiple combustible dust incidents to happen in the same facility. Pamela Nelson, CCPSC, has led Process Hazard Analyses (PHA) studies for many years and has regularly faced team members who are adamant that a proposed scenario is invalid or too farfetched. Most, if not all, PHA and DHA facilitators and scribes have heard over the years of examples like these. Maybe you have heard these same words.
Unfortunately, failure to learn from past incidents is a common obstacle to driving continuous process safety improvement. Read this AIChE article Denials, Delusions, and Bias to better understand why people fail to learn from prior incidents, both at their own company and those from other industries.
A sound process safety culture encourages and supports a questioning and learning environment. By emphasizing learning in both routine work-related activities as well as accidents and incidents, a learning culture will encourage a sense of belonging and significance among workers, increasing the chance that they will share knowledge and learn from one another.
During worker interviews following the combustible dust fires, incident investigators found a common lack of understanding of the hazards and difficulty seeing beyond their own experiences. All combustible dust post-incident recommendations from the CSB identify training as key to risk mitigation. According to the Dust Hazard Learning Review report, people affected by dust-related hazards commented, “Learning should be considered as important as dust control as it serves as the trigger for most safety operations, including housekeeping."
Facilities can be overwhelmed by the task of addressing combustible dust issues where excessive testing, costly investment in equipment modifications, confusing OSHA and NFPA requirements, and the uncertainty of the hazard all contribute to anxiety. Our team has assisted clients in all industries handling combustible dusts, including specialty chemical, petrochemical, foam, spray paint, food industries, and aerospace.
Combustible dust hazards have been at the forefront of everyone’s minds recently, from regulatory authorities who are developing codes and standards for appropriate protections to owners, operators, and engineers who need to implement protective systems. We conducted on-site training for an international explosive manufacturer. Learners were taken through all the steps for risk management, from the realization that there may be a combustible dust hazard, to the steps necessary to reduce the risks and prevent the realization of that hazard, including engineering design and safeguards appropriate for typical unit operations.
We led on-site Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA) training for an international food and beverage company. Participants gained an understanding of current standards and RAGAGEPs, and learned how to identify and characterize dust hazards, explosion and protection methods for their facility, how to set up a DHA team, how to apply multiple DHA methodologies, and how to complete fault tree analyses (FTAs).
We conducted a field audit for a plastics manufacturer of the combustible dust handling portion of their production area. A gap analysis was provided identifying key prescriptive safeguards from NFPA regulations that were not being adhered to. We delivered recommendations for achieving compliance. Additional recommendations were included with regard to compliance with key issues as highlighted by OSHA’s Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP). The facility was able to utilize this gap analysis as a road map for prioritizing necessary upgrades to enhance the safety of its facility.
We conducted combustible dust characterization tests for a polyurethane manufacturer, helping them determine which samples should be tested, which tests are appropriate for their application, and how to interpret the results as well as suggest possible next steps. These included: explosibility screening, KSt and Pmax, MIE, MAIT, MEC, LOC, HSIT, volume resistivity, and chargeability testing. The client was especially pleased with the detailed analysis, as it helped them select the appropriate corrective and preventive measures and plan for their future needs.
Learners can incrementally build competencies in process safety and earn their certification in dust hazards online on the Process Safety Learning® (PSL) platform. With eLearning, travel expenses and time lost from project work are eliminated. All PSL courses are developed by process safety experts and industry-recognized ioMosaic leaders so you can trust the quality of training. Our policies and processes have been thoroughly benchmarked against the ANSI/IACET Standard for Continuing Education and Training.
Understanding why dust is hazardous, the factors leading to fires and explosions, and preventative and mitigative actions are the first steps in controlling these hazards. Learn how to investigate and manage potential combustible dusts at your facility. This course is designed to prepare your team with an awareness and understanding of dust hazards to prevent dust incidents. Combining methodology and real-world incidents with regulation, industry standards, and best practices, this course aims to equip learners with the knowledge and information needed to develop a safer work environment and a framework for implementing effective safeguards against combustible dust. View the agenda and register now.
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ioMosaic understands the safety and risk processes for mitigating dust hazards and delivers practical, locally compliant solutions to our client's safety and risk concerns. Call us today at 1.844.ioMosaic or send us a note. We'd love to hear from you.
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