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GUIDELINES FOR THE INVESTIGATION OF GRAIN DUST EXPLOSIONS Report of the Explosion Investigation Subpanel of the Panel on Causes and Prevention of Grain Elevator Explosions of the Committee on Evaluation of Industrial Hazards NATIONAL MATERIALS ADVISORY BOARD Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council Publication NMAB 367-4 NAT IONAL ACADEMY PRES S Washington, D. C. 1983
l NOTICE: The Panel on Causes and Prevention of Grain Elevator Explosions of the Committee on Evaluation of Industrial Hazards has made a study of the causes and prevention of grain elevator explosions and has published three reports: NMAB 367-1, The Investigation of Grain Elevator Explosions; NMAB 367-2, Prevention of Grain Elevator and Mill Explosions; and NMAB 367-3, Pneumatic Dust Control in Grain Elevators. The panel obtained some of its information for the reports from the work of an Explosion Investigation Subpanel. Members of the subpanel were selected by the panel on the basis of recognized competence in the specific areas. pertinent to that task. - The subpanel report comprises information that was submitted as. background to the panel deliberations and, as such, has not been reviewed in accordance with usual NRC review procedures. The views presented in this document are those of the subpanel members only. . The project was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of: Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and.with regard for appropriate balance. . . . The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the . federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which established the Academy as a private, nonprofit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering.communities. It Is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Med * -~.~. National Academy of.Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. The project by the National Materials Advisory Board was conducted under Contract No e J-9-F-8-0137 with the Occupational Saf ety and Health Administration (OSHA). Funding was provided by OSHA, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Department of Agriculture. This report is for sale by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Printed in the United States of America. ii
t ABSTRACT A methodology for investigating grain elevator explosions is presented. The information that forms the basis for the methodology was gathered by a subpanel of the Panel on Causes and Prevention of Grain Elevator Explosions who investigated a number of grain elevator explosions generally Soon after they occurred. The panel used the information as an input to forming its conclusions and recommendations published in a series of reports. In addition, Several explosion incidents are described in detail to illustrate typical grain elevator explosion Scenarios. 1 iii
PREFACE The Panel on Causes and Prevention of Grain Elevator Explosions was constituted as a unit of the parent Committee on Evaluation of Industrial Hazards. The panel's mission was to study dust explosions in the grain-handling industry and issue reports on the causes of explosions ant recommendations for the prevention of further incidents. The work was sponsored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Department of Agriculture. The panel published three reports: NMAB 367-1, The Investigation of Grain Elevator Explosions; NNAB 367-2, Prevention of Grain Elevator and Mill Explosions; and NMAB 367-3, Pneumatic Dust Control in Grain Elevators. The information which formed the basis for the panel's conclusions and recommendations consisted of published material, prepared discussions of invited speakers at panel meetings, and the personal expertise of the panel members. In addition, the panel formed an explosion investigation subpanel to conduct on-site investigations of explosions generally soon after they occurred. Information and experience gained from investigating a number of explosion incidents were also used to make some of the judgments presented in the three reports of the panel. This document is a description of the methodology for investigating grain dust explosions used by the investigation subpanel. In addition, several explosion incidents are described in detail to acquaint the reader with representative sequences of events and the information that can be derived from them. All information was considered by the panel-in reaching the conclusions and recommendations stated in NMAB publications 367-2 and 367-3. The subpanel report comprises information that was submitted as background to the panel deliberations and, as such, has not been reviewed in accordance with usual NRC review procedures. The views presented in this document are those of the subpane1 members only. l 1 1 v e .
1 Chairman EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION SUBPANEL OF THE PANEL ON CAUSES AND PREVENTION OF GRAIN ELEVATOR EXPLOSIONS* CHARLES W. KAUFFMAN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Members WILLIAM C. BRASIE, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan VERNON L. GROSE, Tustin Institute of Technology, Santa Barbara, Calif ornia ROBERT F . HUBBARD , Cargill , Inc ., Minneapolis , Minnesota ROGER A. STREHLOW, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Ann Representatives MARTIN A. ESHLEMAN, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C . THOMAS H. SEYMOUR, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C. *All subpanel members did not visit every accident site. vii
1 Chairman PANEL ON CAUSES AND PREVENTION OF GRAIN ELEVATOR EXPLOSIONS ROGER A. STREHLOW, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 1 Members JOHN E. ALBERTSON, American Federation of Government Employees, Washington, D . C. WILLIAM C. BRASIE, Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan ROBERT M. FRYE, MAC Pneumatic Systems, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri VERNON L. GRQSE, Tustin Institute of Technology, Santa Barbara, California ROBERT F. HUBBARD, Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota CHARLES W. KAUFFMAN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor ERNEST C. MAGISON, Honeywell Inc., Fort Washington, Pennsylvania ALLEN I. ORMSBEE*, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign ALBERT S. TOWNSEND, National Agra Underwriters, Inc., Camp Hill, Pennsylvania - Liaison Representatives EDWARD J. BALLITCH, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C. PETER BOCHNAK, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Morgantown, West Virginia MART TN A. ESHLEMAN, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. *Appointed during the course of the study sex .
DON GOODWIN, Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina DONALD D. HERRING, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. JOHN F. McANULTY, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, D.C. THEODORE A. PETTIT, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia . JOSEPH E. PIPKIN, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C. YESHAJAHU POMERANZ, Department of Agriculture, Manhattan, Kansas THOMAS H. SEYMOUR, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C. BERNARD T. WOLFSON, U.S. Alr Force, Washington, D.C. NMAB Staff STANLEY M. BARKIN, Staff Scientist NELSON T. GRISAMORE, Staff Scientist 1 .
1 Chairman r COM~ITEE ON EVALUATION OF INDUSTRIAL HAZARDS HOMER W. CARHART, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. Members FREDERICK R. EIRICH, Polytechnic Institute of New York, New York LELAND J. HALL, The Mill Mutuals, Chicago, Illinois ERNEST C. MAGISON, Honeywell Inc., Fort Washington, Pennsylvania J. ARTHUR NICHOLLS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor PETER J. SCERAM, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Northbrook, Illinois ROGER A. STREHLOW, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Liaison Representatives PETER BOCHNAK, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia CHIA CHEN, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C. ANDREW M. COWAN, Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland JOHN A. GERARD, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia RICHARD W. McQUAID, David W. Taylor Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Annapolis, Maryland JOSEPH E. PIPKIN, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C. THOMAS H. SEYMOUR, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Washington, D.C. xi 1
l Technical Advisors ERSKINE HARTON, Consultant, Falls Church, Virginia MURRAY JACOBSON, Nine Safety and Health Administration, Ar lington, Virginia NMAB Staff STANLEY M. BARXIN, Staff Scientist 1 1 xii
l -Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 INVESTIGATIVE METHODOLpGY Nature of Explosions Metbodology CONTENTS Cbap~er 3 SUMMARY OF ON-SITE INVESTIGATIONS # APPENDIX: INVESTIGATIONS Incident No. 1 Incident No. 2 Incident No" ~ Incident No. 4 Incident No. 5 Incident NO. 6 I l xiii Page 1 13 17 17 21 an 25 27 30