History Proves Combustible Dust Can Not Be Ignored

Imperial Sugar Investigative Photo by US CSB

Combustible dust is a very real issue in manufacturing today.In many conversations on this topic, the 2008 Imperial Sugar explosion is brought up. This massive explosion and fire occurred on February 7th of that year, in a 91- year old plant near Savannah, GA.  The fires took over a week to put out and in the end 14 people had died and 38 others were injured, with many having life threatening burns. 

Investigations by OSHA and the Chemical Safety Board (CSB)* found that this tragic incident had been the result of several issues. These included, but were not limited to poor house keeping, lax safety standards, and improper dust collection systems. 

This video by the CSB, uses 3-D animation to detail their finding in the "how and why" of the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion. 

* The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.