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Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017
Preliminary Report
by John S. ForresterManaging Editor
Powder & Bulk Solids
DECEMBER 2017Public Domain Image. Courtesy of pixabay.com
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INTRODUCTION
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From a shifting regulatory landscape in America to several dust explosions at large and small facilities, as well as some positive news on the historic trends of grain dust explosions in the U.S., 2017 was a relatively busy year for combustible dust-related news. Here are three of the year’s biggest stories:
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s decision to omit combustible dust rulemaking (RIN:1281-AC41) in its spring regulatory agenda, effectively halting the agency’s efforts to create federal regulations around the hazard
• A tragic dust explosion occurred at a Cambria, WI corn milling plant in late May, killing five and injuring 12. After an investigation by OSHA, the agency cited the facility’s operator, Didion Milling, in November and ordered a $1.8 million fine.
• Perdue University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering released its annual report on agricultural dust explosions in the U.S. this February showing that grain dust explosions in America reached a 10-year low in 2016.
Wrapping up the year, Powder & Bulk Solids mined its archives, other news reports, government documents, and fire marshals websites to create an informal, preliminary list of dust explosions reported globally in 2017. In the following pages, readers will find a list of confirmed dust explosions that occurred globally this year, in addition to a list of unconfirmed, or suspected, dust explosions during the same period.
The purpose of this exclusive white paper is to help build awareness of combustible dust hazards and a create an aggregation of the year’s incidents. We hope you find this preliminary review helpful and informative.
Wishing you a safe and prosperous 2018,
John S. Forrester Managing Editor Powder & Bulk Solids
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
Public Domain Image. Courtesy of pixabay.com
CONFIRMED DUST EXPLOSIONS IN 2017*
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DATE COMPANY INCIDENT LOCATION
FACILITY TYPE
DUST TYPE DEATHS INJURIES EXPLOSION
LOCATIONEXPLOSION
CAUSE(S)DAMAGES/
LOSSES
May 30, 2017
Formosa Ha Tinh Steel
Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam
Steel PlantLime Kiln
Dust0 0
Dust Collection
System
Breakage of Fabric Dust Filter
Unknown
May 31, 2017 Didion Milling Cambria, WI
Corn Milling Plant
Grain 5 12 UnknownGrain Dust
Accumulation Unknown
Jun. 28, 2017 T.I.C. Gums Belcamp, MD Warehouse Unknown 0 0 Hopper
Equipment Malfunction
$30,000 loss in contents
Nov. 2, 2017
Spectro Coating Corp.
Leominster, MAManufacturing
FacilityFiber 0 1 Drying Oven Unknown Unknown
(*With or Without Fires)
METHODOLOGY: For categorization as a “confirmed” dust explosion, the incident must have been widely reported in the news media as being a “dust explosion,” with that terminology coming from local or state fire or emergency or governmental personnel. The incidents also had to have been declared as a “dust explosion” by a state fire marshal. In the case of the Formosa Plastics Group incident, there was no official fire marshal documentation available, but the incident was widely reported in English-language media as a “dust explosion” quoting government and company officials. The “explosion location” was determined from news reports and official fire marshal documents. “Explosion Cause(s)” were only listed if they came directly from a state fire marshal, except in the case of the Formosa Plastics Group incident, which came from another governmental source.
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
Over the course of 2017, Powder & Bulk Solids identified four “confirmed” dust explosions in media reports and official documents. This figure does not represent the total number of dust explosions that occurred this year, as many remain under investigation or investigation results are not yet publicly available. A later chart identifies possible, or suspected, dust explosions.
Steel Plant Ha Tinh Province
Vietnam
FORMOSA HA TINH STEEL
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Image courtesy of Google Earth
MAY 30, 2017
0 Injuries 0 Fatalities
BACKGROUND: - Multi-billion dollar steel plant owned by
Taiwanese firm Formosa Plastics Group - Vietnam’s largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
project - Involved in an April 2016 toxic spill that impacted
200km of Vietnamese coastline. The firm paid about $500 million in compensation for its role in the pollution. Reuters said the incident is considered one of the country’s worst environmental disasters.
OFFICIAL CAUSE: The Ha Tinh Province People’s Committee determined that the explosion was a result of breakage of a fabric dust filter. Limestone dust and steam formed into a cake in the filter, causing a pressure drop that broke the filter.
“Our equipment which collects dust suffered an explosion. We immediately cut off the power supply for a security check. We are trying to find out what caused it.” - Chang Fu-ning, executive vice president at Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, in a Reuters report.
OUTCOME: The firm said operations at the plant were not significantly impacted as a result of the explosion. Formosa Steel told government officials that it would replace the filter with a better option and check on the safety status of its other facilities.
SOURCES: https://www.reuters.com/article/vietnam-formosa-blast/formosa-plastics-groups-vietnam-steel-plant-hit-by-dust-explosion-idUSL3N1IX0LC https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/lime-kiln-explodes-at-taiwan-s-notorious-steel-plant-in-vietnam-3592760.html http://www.powderbulksolids.com/news/Equipment-Malfunction-Causes-Dust-Explosion-at-Steel-Plant-05-31-2017
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
DIDION MILLING
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Image courtesy of Google Earth
MAY 31, 2017
12 Injuries 5 Fatalities
Milling Plant Cambria, WI
12 Injuries 5 Fatalities
BACKGROUND: - Corn milling plant for ethanol products - The same plant was cited by OSHA for dust
explosion hazards in 2011. - Most of the violations stemming from the 2017
incident are related to explosion and fire hazards.
OFFICIAL CAUSE: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said the cause of the explosion was likely from leakage and accumulations of grain dust in the facility and the firm’s failure to maintain equipment to prevent ignition hazards.
“Didion Milling could have prevented this tragedy if it had addressed hazards that are well-known in this industry. Instead, their disregard for the law led to an explosion that claimed the lives of workers, and heartbreak for their families and the community.” - Ken Nishiyama Atha, OSHA Regional Administrator - Chicago, in an agency press release
OUTCOME: On Nov. 17, 2017, OSHA cited the firm with 14 willful and five serious violations and proposed fines totaling $1.8 million. Didion Milling was put into the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. The company disputed the OSHA penalties and announced plans to rebuild the plant with updated safety equipment. SOURCES: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region5/11172017 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-fatal-wisconsin-plant-explosion-fine-20171117-story.html http://www.nbc26.com/news/records-didion-milling-plant-cited-in-2011-for-exposing-workers-to-dust-explosion-hazards
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
T.I.C. GUMS
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Image courtesy of Google Earth
JUNE 28, 2017
0 Injuries 0 Fatalities
Warehouse Bellcamp, MD
BACKGROUND: - One-story warehouse owned by T.I.C. Gums. - 50 firefighters worked for an hour to bring the
blaze under control. - In October 2017, the warehouse suffered a boiler
fire that caused $10,000 in damages. - The firm’s Brass Mill Operations Center, also in
Bellcamp, suffered an explosion in 2016, causing an estimated $550,000 in damages.
OFFICIAL CAUSE: The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal determined the cause of the explosion was a malfunction in an working hopper, which set off a dust explosion.
“Preliminary Cause: Accidental, due to a malfunction with an operating hopper igniting a dust explosion” - From the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Notice of Investigation (NOI) on June 26, 2017.
OUTCOME: The explosion caused a loss of $30,000 in contents at the facility. Employees on site were evacuated safely and no injuries and fatalities occurred. Fire damaged the hopper and two nearby pieces of equipment.
SOURCES: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDFIRE/bulletins/1a64443 https://patch.com/maryland/belair/tic-gums-fire-draws-hazardous-materials-team http://www.powderbulksolids.com/news/Dust-Explosion-Causes-Fire-at-TIC-Gums-Warehouse-06-29-2017\
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
SPECTRO COATING CORP.
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Image courtesy of Google Earth
JUNE 28, 2017
1 Injuries 0 Fatalities
Manufacturing Facility
Leominster, MA
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
BACKGROUND: - Manufacturing facility for sound-cancelling carpet - Explosion occurred in a drying oven - Worker taken to area hospital with serious
injuries
OFFICIAL CAUSE: The Massachusetts State Fire Marshal and Leominster Fire Chief determined the cause of the incident was a dust explosion in manufacturing equipment.
“State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and city Fire Chief Robert A. Sideleau II said the cause of Friday's fire at Spectro Coating Corporation located at 101 Scott Drive, was an explosion inside a piece of manufacturing equipment.” - The Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise
OUTCOME: Officials said damages to the plant were minimized by the drying oven’s built-in fire suppression system and an employees quick use of a fire extinguisher. OSHA opened an investigation into the injury of the worker.
SOURCES: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/03/dust-explosion-deemed-cause-leominster-factory-fire/qVfYsG6lJdQsAl3qUIJSTP/story.html http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_31434177/employee-seriously-injured-explosion http://www.powderbulksolids.com/news/Dust-Explosion-in-Drying-Oven-Injures-Worker-11-03-2017
POSSIBLE DUST EXPLOSIONS IN 2017*
Powder & Bulk Solids - Combustible Dust Explosions in 2017: Preliminary Report
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DATE COMPANY INCIDENT SITE LOCATION FACILITY TYPE DUST
TYPE DEATHS INJURIESEXPLOSION LOCATION
IN SITE
EXPLOSION CAUSE(S)
DAMAGES/LOSSES
Jan. 10, 2017 Perfetti van Melle Erlanger, KY
Confectionery Plant
Sugar 0 0 Storage Silo Unknown Unknown
Jan. 21, 2017 NPR of America Inc. Grand Haven Twp., MI
Manufacturing Facility
Unknown 0 0Dust
Collection System
Unknown Unknown
May 16, 2017
Mohawk Industries (Unilin)
Mt. Gilead, NCWood Products
PlantWood 1 1 Unknown Unknown Unknown
May 24, 2017
Douglas County Forest Products
Roseberg, OR Saw Mill Wood 0 2 Storage Silo Unknown Unknown
Jun. 30, 2017 Frontier Cooperative Mead, NE Grain Elevator Grain 0 0
Rail Loadout System
UnknownDamage to Grain
Leg
Jul. 26, 2017 3D Idapro Solutions Stanfield, OR
Dehydration Plant
Unknown 0 1 Bag House UnknownTwo Scrubbers, Bags Burned
Jul. 31, 2017 White Farm Switz City, IN Farm Grain 0 0 Grain Bin Unknown
Grain bin destroyed
Oct. 11, 2017
Northeast Agricultural Sales
Inc.Detroit, ME
Agriculture Sales Facility
Sulfer 0 3 Storage Silo Unknown Unknown
Nov. 21,
2017Central Butte Feeds Lawson, SK Grain Elevator Grain 0 0 Unknown Unknown
Structure Destroyed
Dec. 1, 2017
Arakawa Chemical Industries Ltd.
Fuji, Japan Chemical Plant Resin 1 11 Unknown Unknown Unknown
(*With or Without Fires)
METHODOLOGY: For categorization as a “unconfirmed” dust explosion, the incident must have been widely reported in the news media as being a “dust explosion,” with that terminology coming from local or state fire or emergency or governmental personnel. These incidents have not been officially confirmed by fire officials as a “Dust Explosion” as of December 7, 2017, or the findings of investigations were not publicly available. The “explosion location” was determined from news reports and official fire marshal documents. “Explosion Cause(s)” were only listed if they came directly from a state fire marshal, which came from another governmental source.
10 possible, or suspected, dust explosions occurred in 2017, according to Powder & Bulk Solids’ research. Compiled from media reports, these incidents often explicitly involved dust, but, as of December, were not officially determined to be “dust explosions” by fire officials or the conclusions of investigations were not publicly available.
