OSHA has put an increased emphasis on combustible dust due to an alarming number of injuries and fatalities relating to combustible dust fires and explosions. This presentation covers what is combustible, the dangers of combustible dust, and ways to mitigate your risk with a cleaning program.

2. ABOUT HUGHES
• Division of LSS holdings
• Nationwide geographic footprint of
holdings
• Services:
– Combustible Dust Cleaning
– HVAC Systems/Duct Cleaning
– Dry Ice Blasting
– Other Industrial Cleaning

3. OVERVIEW OF
COMBUSTIBLE
DUST

4. OVERVIEW OF COMBUSTIBLE
DUST
• What dust is combustible?
• Key terms
• What Codes govern Combustible Dust?
• Why have a Combustible Dust cleaning
program?

5. WHAT DUST IS COMBUSTIBLE?
• Food (e.g., candy, sugar, spice,
starch, flour, feed)
• Grain
• Tobacco
• Plastics
• Wood
• Paper
• Pulp
• Rubber

6. WHAT DUST IS COMBUSTIBLE?
• Furniture
• Textiles
• Pesticides
• Pharmaceuticals
• Dyes
• Metals (e.g., aluminum,
chromium, iron, magnesium, zinc)
• Coal
• Fossil fuel power generation

7. NFPA 61: Standard for the Prevention of Fires and
Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing
Facilities
– Facility must develop a written housekeeping plan that
determines frequency of cleaning to reduce accumulations
– Compressed air may only be used after all machinery in
the area and all ignition sources controlled.
– Portable vacuums must be listed for use in Class II,
Group G, Division 1 atmospheres.
WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?

8. NFPA 484: Standard for Combustible Metals
– FUGITIVE DUST SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO
ACCUMULATE.
– Vacuums must be grounded and bonded, using non-
sparking, conductive hoses and nozzles, rated for Group E
dusts, labeled for use with aluminum only.
– Blow-down not permitted unless all ignition sources shut
down.
– No water cleaning for aluminum (few exceptions)
– Cleaning should be performed as frequency as conditions
warrant.
WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?

9. NFPA 654: Standard for the Prevention of Fire and
Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing,
and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids
– Housekeeping frequency shall ensure that the
accumulated dust on walls, floors, and horizontal surfaces
and concealed surfaces does not exceed the threshold
dust mass/accumulation of 1/32”.
– Vacuum cleaners must meet requirements of
NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals.
– An inspection testing and maintenance
program should be developed, and include housekeeping.
WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?

10. NFPA 664: Standard for the Prevention of Fires and
Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking
Facilities
– Employee training shall ensure that employees are
knowledgeable about housekeeping policy and
procedures.
– Contractors shall be trained and required to comply with
the facility’s safe work practices, including housekeeping.
– A deflagration hazard exists when accumulated
dust is equivalent to 1/8”.
WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?

11. • 68 Guide for Venting of Deflagrations
• 69 Standard on Explosion Prevention Systems
• 70 National Electrical Code
• 77 Recommended Practice on Static Electricity
• 85 Boiler and Combustion Systems
Hazards Code
• 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces
WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?

12. WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?
• 91 Standard for Exhaust Systems for Air
Conveying of Vapors, Gases, Mists, and
Noncombustible Particulate Solids
• 499 Recommended Practice for the Classification
of Combustible Dusts and of Hazardous
(Classified) Locations for Electrical
Installations in Chemical Process Areas
• 655 Standard for Prevention of Sulfur Fires and
Explosions

13. WHAT CODES GOVERN
COMBUSTIBLE DUST?
• §1910.22 Housekeeping
• §1910.307 Hazardous Locations
• §1910.1200 Hazard Communication
• §1910.269 Electric Power Generation,
Transmission and Distribution (coal handling)
• §1910.272 Grain Handling Facilities
• General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (Employers
must keep workplaces free from recognized
hazards likely to cause death or serious physical
harm)

14. STATES WITH COMBUSTIBLE
DUST REGULATIONS
• GEORGIA
• WASHINGTON
• OREGON
• INDIANA
• NORTH CAROLINA
• CALIFORNIA

15. STATES ADOPTING 2008 NEP
• AZ
• HI
• IA
• IN
• KY
• MD
• MI
• MN
• NC
• OR
• TN
• VA
• VT
• WA
• PR

16. KEY TERMS
• Primary explosion – Initial explosion, triggers
larger explosion
• Secondary explosion – Triggered by primary
explosion
• Kst – Dust deflagration index. Measures the
relative explosion severity compared to other
dusts.
• ƒƒMIE – Minimum ignition energy. Predicts the ease
and likelihood of ignition of a dispersed cloud by
electrostatic ignition sources.

17. WHY HAVE A
COMBUSTIBLE
DUST
CLEANING
PROGRAM?

18. WHY HAVE A COMBUSTIBLE
DUST CLEANING PROGRAM?
HAYES LEMERZ - 2003
A series of explosions severely
burned two workers, injured a
third, and caused property
damage to the Hayes Lemmerz
manufacturing plant in Huntington,
Indiana.
One of the severely burned men subsequently died. The Hayes
Lemmerz plant manufactures cast aluminum automotive wheels,
and the explosions were fueled by accumulated aluminum
dust, a flammable byproduct of the wheel production process.

19. WHY HAVE A COMBUSTIBLE
DUST CLEANING PROGRAM?
IMPERIAL SUGAR- 2008
A huge explosion and fire occurred
at the Imperial Sugar refinery
northwest of Savannah, Georgia,
causing 14 deaths and injuring 38
others, including 14 with serious
and life-threatening burns.
The explosion was fueled by massive accumulations of
combustible sugar dust throughout the packaging building.

20. WHY HAVE A COMBUSTIBLE
DUST CLEANING PROGRAM?
CTA ACOUSTICS- 2003
An explosion and fire damaged
the CTA Acoustics manufacturing
plant in Corbin, Kentucky, fatally
injuring seven workers.
The facility produced fiberglass insulation for the automotive
industry. CSB investigators have found that the explosion was
fueled by resin dust accumulated in a production area, likely
ignited by flames from a malfunctioning oven. The resin involved
was a phenolic binder used in producing fiberglass mats.

21. WHY HAVE A COMBUSTIBLE
DUST CLEANING PROGRAM?
WEST
PHARMACEUTICAL-2003
An explosion and fire destroyed
the West Pharmaceutical Services
plant in Kinston, North Carolina,
causing six deaths, dozens of
injuries, and hundreds of job
losses.
The facility produced rubber stoppers and other products for
medical use. The fuel for the explosion was a fine plastic
powder, which accumulated above a suspended ceiling over
a manufacturing area at the plant and ignited.

22. THE RISK OF NOT
CLEANING
COMBUSTIBLE DUST
CORRECTLY

23. THE RISK OF USING A COMPANY THAT DOESN’T
SPECIALIZE IN COMBUSTIBLE DUST
• Federal Mogul Explosion in Blacksburg, VA
• Company is facing $11m lawsuit from
contractors claiming “inherently dangerous”
working conditions after the contractors caused
an aluminum dust explosion while cleaning
exhaust ducts at the facility.
• DeBruce Grain Facility Explosion in Wichita, KS
• Industrial Maintenance contractor using unsafe
equipment while doing repair work on the dust
control work caused explosion.
• OSHA proposed $1.7m fine for DeBruce
• Injured workers are suing DeBruce for $16m

24. THE RISK OF USING A COMPANY THAT DOESN’T
SPECIALIZE IN COMBUSTIBLE DUST
• CTA Acoustics in Corbin, KY
• Employees routinely used compressed air and
brooms to clean production lines, creating
clouds of resin dust.
• A curing oven ignited the combustible resin
dust stirred up by workers cleaning the area
near the oven.
• The US Chemical Safety Board determined that
if CTA had adhered to NFPA16 standards for
housekeeping and fire/explosion barriers, the
explosions could have been prevented or
minimized.

25. WHAT AREAS DO
FACILITIES
TYPICALLY MISS?

26. WHAT AREAS DO CLIENTS TYPICALLY MISS?
• High surfaces
• In a typical industrial plant, the surface area
of the top of the ductwork, conduit, rafters,
and other high surfaces is equivalent to 5%
of the floor area (Source: NFPA)
• Typically the highest concentration of fine
particulate combustible dusts are the high
surfaces – top of ductwork rafters, conduit,
top of lights

27. WHAT AREAS DO CLIENTS TYPICALLY MISS?
• Walls
• Ceiling Decks
• Dust Collectors
• Inside of ductwork (typically
return and exhust, but
sometimes supply)
• Other horizontal surfaces – e.g.,
top of equipment, catwalks, top
of railings

28. WHAT AREAS DO CLIENTS TYPICALLY MISS?
• Ductwork
(exhaust, return,
supply)
• Exhaust Fans
• Dust Collectors

29. THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

30. THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

31. THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

32. THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

33. THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

34. THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

35. CONTACT:
www.HughesEnv.com
888-845-3952 | info@hughesenv.com