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US dust explosion incidents increased last year, no fatalities

23 February 2023

Purdue University in the US has published its annual summary recording nationwide grain dust bin explosions on February 21. The report shows there were nine incidents in 2022 compared to seven reported incidents in 2021 and a 10-year average of 7.8 explosions annually.

Image: Purdue University
Image: Purdue University

Kingsly Ambrose, Purdue University professor of agricultural and biological engineering and report author, said that despite the increase in explosions from the previous year and 18 total injuries in 2022, no fatalities were reported.


The explosions occurred in an ethanol plant, two feed mills, two grain elevators, two rice mills and two grain processing plants. The probable ignition sources were identified in three cases as a fire and one incidence as welding, while five cases were from unknown sources. Fuel sources for all nine explosions were identified as grain dust.


The dust explosions occurred in seven different states, with two each occurring in Arkansas and Louisiana, and one each in New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio.


“Often, five of the conditions needed for a grain dust explosion to occur are present in most grain feed, milling and processing facilities,” Ambrose said. “These conditions include dust, dispersed dust, confined space and oxygen. The presence of the fifth factor, an ignition source such as overheated bearing or mechanical friction, could lead to an explosion.”


Ambrose emphasised the importance of developing and implementing a detailed housekeeping program to mitigate the hazards and using government and industry resources that are publicly available to provide guidance on developing such a program.


Find out more about the annual summary here: https://engineering.purdue.edu/FFP/research/dust-explosions


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