When The Dust Settles: Combating Combustive Dust In Food Manufacturing

When thinking about explosive materials, there are many things that come to mind – gasoline, gunpowder, paint, etc. Rarely does one ever think about sugar dust, an organic material that with the right conditions and a small spark can create a devastating explosion equivalent to that of a bomb. This white paper explains ways of managing explosive dust which will enable you to prevent combustion events at your food manufacturing facility.

In 2008, the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, GA tragically experienced this first hand when finely ground motes of sugar caused an explosion at the factory killing 14 workers; combustible dust has been hovering as a national headline ever since. The tragedy sparked serious finger-pointing and brought to light a catastrophic issue that was hiding in the shadows of nearly every industrial plant that handles dry solids. The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was quickly put on the hot seat, but they responded fast and with a message heard loud and clear: there are an estimated 30,000 U.S. facilities at risk for a combustible dust fire or explosion, and the agency is going to show up unannounced at as many of those plants as possible.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s announcement of random inspections also came with a re-issue of CPL 03-00-008, their National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Combustible Dust that calls attention to the agency’s rigorous expectations for combustible dust-related explosion prevention. The NEP also outlines what OSHA auditors will be looking for during their visits, items such as dust accumulation of more than 1/32”, the thickness of a paperclip, covering more than 5% of a plant.