POWER April 2014 - 85

PLANT SAFETY
The owner was fined for not including a process
to completely isolate the tank and for
failing to install blind flanges in the overflow
line. The contractor was fined for failing to
ensure the lockout/tagout procedure was
rigidly followed and the tank was properly
isolated. OSHA fined both companies for
failing to inform employees about the explosion
potential when performing hot work on
Tank 1.
The CSB subsequently issued the bulletin
" Seven Key Lessons to Prevent Worker
Deaths During Hot Work in and Around
Tanks " in February 2010, which discusses
11 incidents in which hot work ignited flammable
vapor in or near storage tanks, three
of which were violated during this incident.
The CSB report can be found at http://tinyurl.
com/mmqv7t3.
Destructive Dust Explosions
The danger of dust explosions is common to
many industry sectors, although the magnitude
and carnage from these explosions appears
to have steadily grown over the past
decade. In its 2006 Investigation Report,
" Combustible Dust Hazard Study, " the CSB
identified " 281 combustible dust incidents
between 1980 and 2005 that killed 119 workers
and injured 718, and extensively damaged
industrial facilities. "
Many of these explosions occurred in utility
plants that burn coal, but the ubiquitous nature
of these explosions is apparent; the incidents
occurred in 44 states, in several different industries,
and involved a variety of materials.
The CSB report specifically discusses
seven catastrophic explosions that occurred
during the decade preceding release of its report.
The common factor was secondary dust
explosions that caused most of the damage,
principally due to " inadequate housekeeping
and excessive dust accumulations. " A secondary
explosion occurs when a primary, and
often small, explosion or other event occurs
that produces a blast wave that lofts dust accumulated
on floors and structures into the
air and then is ignited by the primary explosion
or other ignition source.
In effect, a weak primary explosion often
causes a very strong secondary explosion.
The NFPA defines an explosive dust as fine
material that can pass through a U.S. No. 40
Standard Sieve (about 430 microns).
The CSB completed three in-depth dust
explosion investigations in 2003 prior to the
report release. The first was at a pharmaceutical
manufacturing plant, located in North
Carolina, which killed six workers and completely
destroyed the facility. That explosion
was caused by polyethylene powder accumulation
above the suspended ceiling used
in the production of rubber medical devices.
April 2014 | POWER
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POWER April 2014

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