Dust explosions pose a severe hazard in the workplace, but there many ways to detect danger before a problem occurs.

Dust explosions are a serious hazard in the process industries. They have led to the destruction of property and damage to facilities and equipment. In the worst circumstances, they may also lead to injury of plant personnel and even fatalities. In 2017 alone, there were 68 globally reported cases of dust explosions with 163 injuries and 13 fatalities. They are not as common as flammable vapor or gas explosions, but they do occur often.

With the potential for such a dangerous workplace hazard, the reader may assume that there are federal and state laws in place protecting worker safety. However, there are currently no laws in place at the state or federal level protecting workers against dust explosion hazards.

Nevertheless, there are consensus standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that provide detailed guidance for preventing and mitigating dust fires and explosions. These guidelines are considered to be widely effective. Fortunately, the standards are voluntary unless they have been adopted by a municipality or state as local code. The NFPA dust codes are mentioned in the International Fire Code as well as the Uniform Fire Code, which are globally acknowledged model codes that various governments base their own local, state and national fire codes upon.

Due to this, the NFPA dust standards are considered recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP). Worker safety organizations and insurance companies then use these standards as safety guidelines for plants and facilities. OSHA used these standards to establish their own Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (CPL 03-00-008) back in 2008 and have successfully enforced them through the use of the General Duty Clause OSHA Act of 1970 section 5(a)(1). The clause states that “each employer shall furnish to each of his employees' employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2021 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.

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