Combustible Dust: An Insidious Hazard

[@blindsniper35]

It's interesting in later combustible dust accidents how you can hear them getting more and more frustrated at being ignored

[@samposyreeni]

It's particularly interesting considering they're addressing OSHA, another closely related federal agency. If this isn't about Occupational Safety and Health, I don't know what is. Especially since they do have extant regulation e.g. for the flour processing industry, and yeah, dust inhalation is a health issue regardless of the explosive aspect.

[@marciarodrigues9044]

@@samposyreeni Good point about the dust inhalation. The safety starts right there.

[@JollyJoe135]

@@samposyreeni The dust inhalation is underrated, in my opinion, as a problem. Yesterday My co workers and I were loading in our normal ground trailer for ups and there was so much dust we couldn’t stop coughing when we were stacking in the back. This is the worst it’s ever been but the dust is bad you can see it when the sun comes through the bay doors it’s everywhere. Sure we get health insurance but there could be better ventilation and health standards in general my facility is sadly dated.

[@samposyreeni]

@@JollyJoe135, and of course some of the dust never leaves your lungs. The best known example is asbestos, but things like wood fiber never really clear either. Because they're not water soluble. They just stick around and harm your lungs. Or chalk. Omg that's bad. Many of them fibrous and insoluble particulates really are, especially in the long run. And they don't even tell you to run and hide from the stuff.

[@samposyreeni]

@@JollyJoe135, nowadays I mostly deal with intravenous drug users, and the stuff they leave hanging in their veins. But the stuff industrial workers leave hanging in their lungs is almost as bad. Like asbestos, can even lead to cancer, unlike anything IV-users do. *And*, in the industrial setting, it's not much of a choice, unlike in the drug misuse one. You take it, or you're on the street. Awful, and wrong.

[@armywife012205]

That was a awful day. I was ten miles away and I felt the ground shake. My Mom, who was working at Lenoir Memorial hospital that day, says she'll never forget it.

[@risu6894]

Lenoir as in Lenoir, NC?

[@kninesairsoft]

@@risu6894 no, lenoir county. Lenoir memorial hospital is in Kinston

[@woolsheepthree]

all my cats have feline aids. it's like a rite of passage thing

[@engineersmodelschoolscienc7520]

CSB is contributing a lot to save humanity

[@grantchisholm1308]

Naseem Akhtar agreed

[@silentios7336]

@@grantchisholm1308 Nah CSB are just the people that fill the hole after the kalf drowned in it. If they really want to save humanity they would come with these options BEFORE something happens. In short: They just abuse YOUR tax money to tell you that the process is wrong AFTER some major incident. They would be NOTEWORHTY if they can tell this BEFORE it happens.

[@TheMattc999]

Naseem Akhtar meanwhile humanity is contributing a lot towards destroying itself....

[@TheMattc999]

T K couldn't agree more. What's even worse is that as advanced as we are, we have to have an entity to figure out how to prevent this shit from happening again. Most of these events could have been prevented with a little diligence and common sense.

[@e-agjohn8176]

@@silentios7336 I would say their lack of funding and administrative goal is preventing them to do that. They are formed and "charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents". If they were charged with "preventing accidents" I would imagine it would be entirely different.

[@Chubbytiger74]

I used to work in a woodshop that made tons of dust. Literally in a single day I might make 500 pounds of dust that went into a collector and 100 gallon bags that I had to drag outside. There was dust everywhere and we tried to clean it because it looked better but i never considered how flammable it was. Every six months my boss would blow out the entire shop to clear out buildup

[@JayPersing]

That sounds like a recipe for an explosion 😅 did yall have an effective fire suppression system?

[@scootermom1791]

I don't think I'll ever understand how dust from flour or sugar can become flammable. Wood shavings make sense...not flour or sugar.

[@lockdown727]

It explained in the video.

[@BobBob-lz3yb]

Even aluminium dust was flammable in this video

[@BobBob-lz3yb]

Dust form gives you so much more surface area to gain contact with heat and oxygen. Same way paper is much easier to burn than a pack of it, and wood shavings and dust is easier to burn compared to a block of wood.

[@Satchmoeddie]

An old demonstration my grandfather showed me, was take one of those old gray metal trash cans like you can find in any school room from the 1980s, and put 1/2"-3/4" of flour in the bottom of it. Then take a package of those Black Cat fire crackers, and start tossing them into the trash can one by one. Eventually that flour will ignite. If get the right mixture you can blow the little waste paper can apart at the seams. Usually it just shoots a fireball straight up, and instead of a pop you get a loud BANG or a BOOM. That is from white all purpose flour. Metal dust is1000x worse. Wood dust, flour, grain dust. It is all explosive, when you get the right conditions. My grandfather was trained in fire fighting fire prevention and technical rescue techniques by The Union Pacific Railroad. From there he went to the military and instructed the US Army & USAF in firefighting, with the new at the time jet fuels, and rocket fuels. How have we gone so far backwards over the past 50 years? Chief William Harold Mitchell was in South Korea when it was invaded. His work at fire prevention for the military gave him very high security clearances, so he was evacuated from Korea very quickly.

[@Niawen2011]

When combustible dust is just lying about, it's not so bad. But when it's stirred up and becomes an aerosol it can burn explosively. In some ways not it's not at all unlike a fuel-air bomb. I've demonstrated this in wood shops by holding a match first to accumulated wood dust in a small pile, then tossing the same dust in the air with a match held beneath the floating dustcloud. The results are scary. I remember grain silo explosions in the US south and midwest in which entire rows of concrete silos were completely destroyed with the accompanying loss of many lives. Intelligent factory design is obviously mandated, but regular and aggressive housekeeping is equally critical in protecting personnel and investments. Insurance companies can assist greatly by incorporating as part of their policies mandatory independent annual inspections and frequent safety education for employees and management alike.

[@raidenmateo422]

i know Im asking randomly but does any of you know of a method to get back into an instagram account?? I stupidly lost the login password. I appreciate any help you can offer me!

[@raidenmateo422]

@Nicolas Leroy I really appreciate your reply. I found the site on google and Im in the hacking process atm. Takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@raidenmateo422]

@Nicolas Leroy it did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thanks so much you really help me out !

[@brianrosales490]

Slowly pour some talc over a lighter and it'll light can be dangerous so don't try at home

[@thelaughingtiger146]

As a working class slob myself, I feel terrible for the lives lost and the family's. And, to Sean's sister, he was lucky to have such a loving sister. May he rest in peace. I really think we need more unions.

[@TheMouseAvenger]

Well, good news! :-) Unions are really making headway nowadays, & standing up against the mean big corporations! ^_^

[@markmcgoveran6811]

If you have a union you have a shop steward and if you have a shop steward he's got a union guy called the lawyer that's smart enough to look up all these rules and see if you are supposed to have more gas equipment by law or better sanitation or something by law and then the shop steward goes and tells the manager this is the law what are we going to do and nobody gets fired for representing the law. In a Tyson's chicken plant they had 17 people burned to death because the manager changed the fire escape door shut and nobody said anything they'd be fired if they did. Then we all spend a lot of money putting that manager in prison be a lot cheaper to put in unions in watch out for these fire codes than it is to pay to put that guy in the pokey for a long time.

[@ehabhussein8201]

0:14 Case study #1 2:08 Case study #2 6:30 Conclusion #1 6:50 Case study #3 11:05 How dust explodes? 13:50 Case study #4 18:27 Case study #5 25:40 Conclusion #2

[@BareClause]

Thanks bro

[@busterbeagle2167]

Ehab Hussein Thank you

[@aaronrosner8446]

Thank you kind sir

[@TheMattc999]

Word. 👍

[@Utubin]

Thanks 👍

[@bmaiceman]

Someone SHOULD go check out the FEED GRAIN MILL at Westville Oklahoma.... DUST DUST DUST INCHES THICK ON EVERYTHING

[@thecrazyfarmboy]

This deserves more upvotes. Only person I've seen thus far trying to prevent another possible accident from happening!

[@alexlindekugel8727]

@@thecrazyfarmboy grain mills around hear are horable for lack of dust control also.

[@BradyReese]

But is it combustible dust? Or are you a disgruntled employee 🤔 ❤

[@bmaiceman]

@@BradyReese combustable..!!!!!

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

​@@BradyReeseGrain dust is _extremely_ combustible. Have you ever lit up a cloud of flour? Same principle, but bigger

[@kentuckyrex]

I work the mat lines at the new CTA plant. My dad worked at the old building from 1991 and was there the day it blew up. He worked the new building until he left for the railroad in 2010. I still have a dad. But a classmate of mine lost her uncle. He had 3rd degree burns over 80% of his body. And my dad knew a fellow that walked out with every bit of clothing burned off except his work boots. My hat's off to everyone that was there. I hope I never experience that. I got lucky. My dad's here. Others..... well I hurt for them.

[@mattlowe7359]

My dad was supposed to work that day of the explosion but had to call in on account of family problems only reason he's still alive

[@ostapbendervan7874]

VAPOURIZE But lobbyist fight AGAINST regulation

[@legitbeans9078]

I love how earnest that Irish guy is. He doesn't sugar coat a thing he just tells it as it is, respect.

[@Mark-uh4zd]

If only govt and politicians were the same way

[@BudhaMagar-b7f]

@@Mark-uh4zdʻjʻ

[@Eternal1nstant]

@@BudhaMagar-b7fWhat?

[@pebble312]

⁠@@Mark-uh4zd it’s ironic you say that considering that the guy we are talking about is a government employee 😂

[@trespire]

@@Mark-uh4zd The Irish guy is in the US Government. Here he is the head of the USCSB, I wish other official would take his example.

[@danilopeterson3467]

No one is addressing here the equally bad INHALATION of dust! This is also a medical hazard!

[@yakacm]

Yeah I was thinking that all the way thru the video, if the dust is concentrated enough to explode it must be damaging the workers health, especially when they are stopping work several times a day to brush up dust and blow dust off equipment with compressed air.

[@Disinterested1]

Although I agree dust can be an occupational hazard an explosion will likely affect a whole area . I used to work in a flour mill and masks/hairnets were mandatory , dust is common but has to be addressed so there is a 24hr cleaning crew ........using grounded vacuum cleaners to minimise spark risk ....it IS possible to do this work safely ......just needs a little thought

[@Disinterested1]

grounded vacuum ....brushing and airlines just moves it back into the atmosphere to settle elsewhere and increase risks

[@trespire]

I work in the metal industry. Laser cutting of aluminum & steel produces metallic dust. Metallic dust is heavy and drops to the floor and stays down on the floor. Some fools clean the floor with compressed air, instead of using brooms & vacuum cleaners.

[@Tindometari]

Well, yes, inhaling the dust is bad for the lungs, but really, in this situation you're only going to be getting a few breaths of that before you're enveloped in the explosion. And it's not that the dust is in the air in that density all the time. Some event kicks it in the air and then it ignites.

[@nonyabiz2777]

I worked at a corn refinery and I never really appreciated the strict safety procedures. After watching enough of this type of videos I really am glad the company did safety to the extreme.

[@supersonicbros23]

"Its just dust it can't hurt you" --- Some supervisor shortly before the building blows up

[@chrisvig123]

Aluminum dust/powder is a main ingredient in thermite bombs which the US used to devastate Japan during WW2…more people died from fire bomb raids than they did from the atomic bombs

[@WineScrounger]

"yeah we use this flammable dust, it gets everywhere, and occasionally the oven catches on fire, we hose it out, its fine" My brother in christ this is not okay

[@philsphan4414]

It’s really important to talk about economic impact. The same manager who won’t spend a cent to make things safer may spend to prevent loss of revenue due to operation interruption.

[@pointcuration1278]

Economic impact is an important consideration like safety. If you can’t run a process without people dying, it’s probably not worth running the process. If a safe process is not economically viable then it’s similarly probably not worth running the process.

[@bumblebob5979]

@@pointcuration1278 Narcissists doesn't consider human value. Learn or pay up.

[@GiordanDiodato]

@@pointcuration1278 if the safe process isn't economically viable, find a different job

[@Floris_VI]

And consider also the families losing a breadwinner on top of the emotional damage

[@sirsnall]

this makes all the 12 hour days of a industrial cleaner suck a little less and makes me appreciate what i was doing a little more

[@WadcaWymiaru]

This is WHY "wet dedusting" is so need. It is easy to collect the dust in that way. Some power plants are using it to remove the sulfur.

[@GiordanDiodato]

also ventilation

[@ph11p3540]

In BC Canada, we are suffering a rash of pulp mill explosions. The companies and labour board kept saying pulp should not explode. Now there a high level crown inquires.

[@leemer1]

Pulp mill? Those were sawmill explosions. I don't recall any pulp mill explosions 4 years ago in BC..

[@OnTheRun167]

This reminds me of the grain elevator explosion in Westwego, Louisiana in 1978. Dust seems harmless but it's deadly under the right circumstances.

[@scootermom1791]

It doesn't make any sense to me. 🤔

[@Punch_Rockgroin]

@scootermom1791 Small, flammable particles in very close proximity of each other. Trillions of them. One finds a source of ignition, and it sets off a chain reaction. As long as there's sufficient oxygen, all of them burn.

[@scootermom1791]

@@Punch_Rockgroin okay, so why won't flour, for example, ignite when you try to light it with a match? There's plenty of oxygen around it. That's what confuses me.

[@Punch_Rockgroin]

@@scootermom1791 kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHywgXZooZ1jhLc Flour is combustible in the right settings

[@scootermom1791]

@@Punch_Rockgroin okay... thank you!

[@michaelcuff5780]

This is why when you see a building being knocked down theres usually a man with a water hose sprayng everything down.

[@NithinJune]

I have never noticed that

[@Dervishcolorado]

it was my understanding that was to keep silica dust mitigated for the immediate surroundings and workers

[@red_d849]

now i know to look for that!

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

​@@DervishcoloradoThat's another huge concern, yes

[@iidoyila_live_]

me too but i'm a girl with a big hose spraying everything down

[@fldsthedrummer]

@jschanna I worked at CTA acoustics when this happened. The worst day of my life, and I still think about it every day

[@mattlowe7359]

Did you know a David by happen stance

[@bmaiceman]

So why did y'all NEVER THINK tgat all that dust in the air just might not be a good thing!???

[@rwsd343]

@@bmaiceman Mike could be dead or not on yt Sorry I'm replying 4 months later

[@petero.7487]

Honestly, I'm not honestly sure how this even showed up in my feed, but I subscribed to it: I gotta say, you can learn a lot about chemistry and how things can go sideways in ways I would never have considered possible by watching this show: Who'd have thought powdered flour or sugar would explode! Yeah, I could imagine iron dust or aluminum dust exploding -- iron is used in thermite, and aluminum oxide was used in the space-shuttle's solid-rocket boosters (along with ammonium perchlorate in a rubberized mix).

[@nigelft]

@Richard Vaughn Yesh ... I am surprised he didn't lose more than just his hair ...

[@JayPersing]

​@tripplefives yikes!

[@msblue8155]

The Mont Blanc tunnel fire was caused when a transport truck carrying margarine and flour caught fire. I was amazed at what flour and margarine could do when exposed to those conditions.

[@randomoldguy3967]

I worked at a Kingsford Charcoal plant in KY that suffered a dust explosion in 2010. One man was killed, 4 others injured. I was about 200 feet away from the silo that exploded and I will never forget the sound. I still have survivors remorse from that accident.

[@ewilloch]

Thanks so very much to CSB for their extremely valuable work!

[@ps374249]

I always hated sweeping up when I worked in a shop (small scale, university theater set studio, dust collectors on every saw) but I have a newfound appreciation for it's importance.

[@hebneh]

In 1968 i went on a school field trip to a factory where decorative wood bowls and similar items were made. The work was done in open roofed warehouses or outdoors. Even at the age if 14 i was astounded at the huge accumulations of chips and sawdust everywhere and I was sure there would be a fire sooner rather than later - and there was, within a few weeks. There was no dust explosion in this case but the flammable material all over the place did the job anyway.

[@jeffreysokal7264]

CSB produces some of the finest safety awareness videos. I hope these spread so all industries can learn from the painful lessons others have had to learn.

[@Makeitliquidfast]

The powdercoating industry needs to watch this video, if your a powdercoater listen up. One spark while coating a part and boom goes the dynamite.

[@christopherhowson3870]

Yes!

[@Jm4steam]

And the plastics industry. Worked in a place with dust all over.

[@kodizzie3827]

Exactly the same problem that flower mills have had since the beginning of civilization. The explosive nature of flamable particulates in the air (at the correct concentration) has been fully understood for *hundreds* of years. It's shocking that these companies would be so incredibly lax about such a well known, deadly risk.

[@MySerpentine]

The men with power don't care if poor people die. They never have, most of them.

[@bskull3232]

Flour.

[@darkwaters1010]

They think "but we don't use grain, hyuck hyuck hyuck", assuming only grain dust is the problem.

[@firefox5926]

people forget that dust + air is by definition a fuel-air bomb and fuel air bombs are thee most powerful pound for pound bomb type outside of nuclear weapons

[@firefox5926]

anything that can oxide can be fuel and practically everything can oxidize if the substance in question has a large enough surface area to volume ratio hence why a pot scrubbers will burn if you put a candle under them but a nail wont

[@marlene7969]

Most companies don’t want workers to take production time to clean, but will complain that the production areas aren’t clean enough. And they don’t want to spend money for dedicated cleaning crews or special cleaning equipment. You can’t get every nook and cranny cleaned with a 10 minute end of shift time frame. And I’ve never seen anyone get up and clean in the roof trusses, or on top of ceilings… Happy to be retired now, but feel for all the workers still in these positions.

[@DaKineTunes]

Very well done! Should get be nominated for an Emmy that could be shared by all the victims' families of such tragedies.

[@PULSEJETVALVE]

This video is eye opener for all . Still there are many unprotected installation.Many still emphasize on wet/reactor/pressure vessel reactions/runaway reaction safety. Bust dust explosion hazard still requires a lot of awareness. Many give excuse " it has not happened for so many years " and trust on unreliable traditional Explosion door which donot open when explosion really happen thus causing catastrophe. Every dust below 420 micron may cause dust explosion even those which do not come in known category of explosive dust.

[@trespire]

Thanks for the 420 micron data. At the 3:55 the narrator describes an ( random !!!) impact spark as a source of ignition. That's an eye opener for me after watching this video for at least 10 times over. God bless the CSB.

[@Videogamer-555]

Aluminum dust is actually used in the Daisy Cutter and MOAB bombs. Those are fuel air bombs, and they are the most powerful bombs in the US arsenal, outmatched only by nuclear bombs. They use a standard high explosive to disperse aluminum dust, which then ignites when mixed with the surrounding air, creating a massive explosion.

[@SixOhFive]

Wow that's crazy

[@lenrussell2424]

Personally, I was already aware of the hazards of combustible dust primarily through my connections to the grain industry. If the gov could scale their grain dust programs to other industries, I think it could be very successful.

[@tovsteh]

11 years later and I'm hooked on these videos.

[@gagekoval3984]

“If we’d only known.” -management everywhere that definitely knew

[@littlewazz]

Most companies don't want to shut down equipment for a proper PM, and most don't clean the structure of the building

[@firefox5926]

17:39 generally specking of the dust is formed from a materiel that contain CARBON it WILL burn if it is from a METAL that can in anyway BE OXIDIZED BY OXYGEN it Will burn aluminum, iron, titanium, lithium, sodium, chromium, lead, copper, tin, etc if it can form an "insert metal here" oxide it CAN burn

[@James1toknow]

I knew about this hazard sence 1984 as a fire equipment technician. I'm a phoneman now and I can tell you I have seen hundreds of plants with dust issues. I have run cable through rafters and in some cases you could write your name in the stuff.

[@Floris_VI]

I know this comment is 13 years old but i just wanna point out that combustable dust has been known about for centuries

[@LoneTiger]

Here in Mexico, around early 80s, my dad was the engineer in charge of building 3 corn grain dome-silos, around 40 meters in diameter each, couple years after they were built, they blew up. Turns out someone sent a couple welders to do some work on the belts and the procedure to follow before any work started was not followed. Said procedure was to run the extractor fans at twice the speed for a couple of hours to vacuum any airborne grain dust called "tamo" here. Since this was not done, the moment the welders began to work... boom.

[@dieseldave71]

Ironic that their cleaning activities actually started the disaster

[@danr1920]

I work for a breakfast cereal company. In the 1990's we got a lot of training about dust including an impressive video with actual explosions, including one with just a table spoon full of flour. They should have known.

[@chrishenniker5944]

Bresland has a Belfast accent. It's astonishing how much material is carburetted before combustion. The building is carburettor and combustion chamber in one.

[@AnalogWolf]

Combustible dust is no joke. Flour, sugar, wheat, even plastic and metal can be fuel if not handled. These are classic examples of companies not caring to do basic safety steps to control dust as they don't want to spend the time or money to accomplish it. When dust is inches thick, that neglect is obvious. I can personally attest to the usefulness of the MSDS/SDS sheets being updated. In 2015 I was working with nylon powder for 3D printing at work and there was a note about combustible dust. I had no idea that plastic powder was flammable, and as the lab manager I took steps to mitigate it using explosion proof vacuum cleaners, anti static mats etc. OSHA never inspected our lab, it was all up to me. The expense was minimal but well worth it as we didn't have a single incident in the three years I was working there.

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

The sugar dust explosion surprised me. I remember a grain storage dust explosion when working around Houston/Galveston in '78-'79. It had so much force, it threw huge chunks of concrete for blocks.

[@SurelyYewJest]

The first one is most interesting, because it would seem that something other than the Aluminum itself would have to be the fuel for the fire to keep burning. But, I looked it up and it makes sense that Aluminum at these particle sizes burned. Flakes like these are used in fireworks, so pipes full of the stuff would certainly do so as long as air and static discharge are present. My guess is the ignition source was the friction of the particles against each other where a static charge was already building and Oxygen was present in enough concentration.

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

Listening to this while dusting my house. It's a real motivator!

[@willthomsen7569]

Sometimes I have to do work at the shop and it always AMAZES me how much dust there is on everything you never even see it. Pipes, metal rafters, the tops of walls, insulation, EVERYWHERE. You can leave handprints in it it’s so deep. It’s super fine too cause it’s only the really light stuff that’ll make it up there. Scary stuff but how the hell do you clean all that? 30 years of dust on EVERYTHING 80 feet high. Imagine the health hazards in dislodging and cleaning all that stuff so high up over concrete…

[@ShawnC.W-King]

2:03 "If we'd only known" OH, THEY KNOW, THEY KNEW, THEY. JUST. DIDN'T. CARE!

[@matthewheath7839]

Fuckin' aye brother!

[@centrifugedestroyer2579]

Corporate Greed is the force behind the worst decisions

[@ChakkyCharizard]

heres an idea. in the training manual for the cleaners: "clean dust off ceiling. if you dont, building will explode and everyone will die and it will all be your fault."

[@Floris_VI]

Funny you think they employed cleaners, you know that costs money right?

[@OGMann]

"They had an accident there before..." "Aluminum dust had acculated...in some places several inches thick..." Uhm, and what, the employees could not see this? I worked on a commercial rock crushing operation. The dust, while not explosive, required wearing a mask to protect nose, throat and lungs. The dust built up everywhere. Constant attention was necessary to keep the system running. Just saying.

[@annasstorybox7906]

Maby a simple system like those used in coal mining would have helped, at least in the cases an explosion happened in a tunnel like structure, but maby even in larger rooms... The simple contraption consist of water containers mounted intentionally loosely on the cealings. A blast, traveling ahead of the actual explosion, would knock them over, moisturizing the dust in the adjacent part of the drift and stopping the blast. The water also cool the walls and floors and renders wooden structures ore stored goods less flammable. I guess a similar contraption like shock wave triggered sprinklers should not be to complicated...

[@jamesrobinson5655]

This video is pretty old but even today most factories I did electrical work in had a large amount of dust collected on every imaginable surface. The fact of the matter is that the majority of factories even in the United States are run exactly the same way that the factories in these videos are run. Most people working in the factories aren't even aware of the danger. it takes getting on a lift and getting up above all the surfaces to identify that there is a problem

[@oddballdynamics.9658]

12:20. CSB investigators test the flammability of a product without wearing any PPE or with any other safety precautions in place. Wow!

[@Sashazur]

It wouldn’t surprise me if those pharmaceutical workers have lung problems from breathing in those plastic particles for years.

[@jschanna]

Thanks CSB for another excellent video.

[@monkisethojane2218]

I cannot stop watching your videos, Great video guys. The animations on point👌

[@lisaweaver986]

My husband was out there that night. Beyond horrific experienced.

[@brendanwilliams7291]

I did woodworking for 12 years and had to deal with combustible dust. The worst thing that happened was that we got a foreman who treated me so badly that I left the class and the group, I much prefer to go to the group I have been with for nearly 20 years, at least they treat me well and are always willing to help me when I have any questions or concerns.

[@brendanwilliams7291]

Great stuff. Have any of these recommendations been put into place or have they been swept under the carpet? Remember that action speaks louder than words.

[@brendanwilliams7291]

Many companies are complacent about the hazards related to combustible dust, they don’t seem concerned that they could put lives at risk by choosing not to take the correct approach to dealing with combustible dust. At work when doing woodwork, we sweep up any dust off the floor and work benches and discard the dust in the bins outside, or put it in the sensory garden.

[@johannesbols57]

They don't care because if their workers die they pay less in compensation to the families than they would pay the dead worker's pension.

[@americankid7782]

Never experienced one in my life but I have seen many recordings of these events. They are always terrible and sudden. Most of the ones I have seen are Grain based explosions. I forgot about this but I visited the Washburn ‘A’ mill in Minneapolis, MN. It exploded on May 2nd 1878 killing 18 people. It was a grain mill. It still exists to go visit and I visited it in 2012(?) and gained an idea on how powerful a dust explosion can be. If you live in the area I encourage you to visit.

[@AGloom6159]

Once when I was middle school age, my sister found this video and let me borrow her phone to watch it while she and our mom went into a store for something. It was probably to keep me out of their hair, and it hella worked, because I watched the whole thing, but I forgot about the video for a while and when I occasionally remembered it I couldn't remember what it was called. Looked up the concept today and finally found it again I just felt like talking about that because this was genuinely one of the most fascinating videos I've ever seen

[@Thomas-er9uf]

The one person said, "if they only knew". And there were 250-ish incidents over 18 years. Blatant neglegence!!!

[@DonsandDins1]

I worked at West Pharma in the UK at the time of the Kingston explosion. We were all so shocked and saddened by what happened, and will will always be grateful to the Emergency Services who attended. Seeing that again still hurts.

[@RickL_was_here]

You'd think food production/processing plants wouldn't be that dusty. Yuck.

[@АлександрДараган-з8ц]

2:00-2:03. That's highly debatable. "Not giving a damn" is a much more appropriate phrase in this case than " simply being unaware of the hasard". Unless there's an enforceable mandatory safety regulation with criminal prosecution for those responsible (top brass included), these disasters will keep happenIng. Simpathy and condolences to all the victims and their families.

[@brianallison1913]

The factory I worked in had mats of dust on the rafters, ducting, machines, etc. I did eventually report them to OSHA for other major safety violations. In the end I was out of a job and nothing has changed. OSHA essentially protects the companies and not the workers. Basically they are just another HR department for industries.

[@ryanwooden783]

They terminated you for reporting a safety hazard?

[@sarahamira5732]

@@ryanwooden783 I assure you they made some other shit up to put on paper. But yeah the idea of someone being iced out by their coworkers for something like that isn't far fetched, especially if they don't understand the reason why and just think your trying to mess with their lives

[@user-mj2ol6kv8y]

I'm sure it's very logistically difficult for yall to get more interviews with the families of the people killed in these events, but it adds so much to this episode to hear from Tammy about losing her brother in such a sudden and awful way. It's one thing to hear that people died and think "imagine their family and friends", but it's something else to see the person's face and hear their story in their own voice.

[@edwelndiobel1567]

Managers and execs always say it would take too much downtime. I wonder how much downtime a blown up facility would have?

[@yurivin2450]

Very very very useful information! Thank you so much for your work.

[@diogenes34]

I worked in a coal power plant in the early 1980 they has a team of workers vacuuming the plant daily. It is surprising that these accidents are still happening many decades later.☹️Thanks for this video that explains how so many other products other than coal and flower can explode under the right conditions.

[@dfdemt]

Until the CSB is given enforcement powers and/or the power to levy fines, they’ll always be ignored. Big industry will take their recommendations and say “you’re right mister CSB investigator, we’ll implement these changes right away”. Ans as soon as mister CSB investigator leaves, they’ll laugh and throw the recommendations in the trash. Because when it comes down to it, they don’t care about their employees. They care about their bottom line. And until you hit them in their pocketbook and effect that bottom line, they’ll always ignore you and go right back to doing things the way they’ve always done them.

[@kabbilar]

Glad I've found this channel. Thank you.

[@baardkopperud]

Alumium dust... Yes, how half of what make-up thermite *possibly* become a problem or be a hazard?

[@catalintimofti1117]

Ah yes the powder for solid rocket boosters as well

[@watermon1]

Why wasn't the CSB recommendation following the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion that flame resistant clothing (FRC's)be worn by workers that are exposed to a combustible dust flash fire environment?

[@rickansell661]

It's important to recognise that if Combustible Dust Flash Fires are a risk then Combustible Dust Explosions are a risk. Even with a 'Flash Fire' external burns are not the only risk. For a start the worker in the aluminium plant that died died from burns to his internal organs (as his sister states in the video). But the most important thing is that Dust Explosions are just that, Explosions. Depending on the exact situation you may find that none of the fatalities suffer burns - they might be, for example, hit by flying debris, or crushed by falling structural elements. Of those that are fatally burnt this may be a secondary effect of being unable to escape from a developing secondary fire due to injury or structural damage. Finally, in many industries the normal working uniform is already fire resistant. A standard 'Boiler Suit' is called that because it is suitable for working around boilers, with the associated heat and fire risks. The ones I know use natural fibres as these char in a fire rather than melt or burn, as many artificial fibres do. Many are impregnated with additional fire retardants. Just be careful about not washing the retardant out of your overalls and not getting them impregnated with oils and other combustibles.

[@Islacrusez]

Rick Ansell it’s also worth noting that there’s enough difference between fire resistant clothing and full anti-flash gear, as the Royal Navy will readily attest to.

[@Sashazur]

Flame resistant clothing won’t save you from the pressure and flying debris. And flame retardant chemicals themselves have cancer risks.

[@Hunzoyt]

I worked at CTA 7 months last year, hard work, worked as mold operator and at the end of those lines stacking the pelts, still dusty as hell in that place

[@BrettonFerguson]

Lady @11:20 says it's just a lack of understanding. If only people knew how dangerous dust was they would simply clean it up. I think she has a lack of understanding, sometimes it is difficult to find and remove dust from ceiling girders, pipes, ducting, conduits, and such things. I've been in factories where we knew dust was on the ceiling girders, we knew it was potentially explosive, but had no way to get to the ceiling girders. The only way to safely access the ceiling girders would have been with a boom lift, however there was no way to get a boom lift in with the machinery on the floor.

[@TheTruthSeeker756]

Companies and their executives do not care. They just want to try and squeeze every nickel they can out of their operation short term. Only thing that can stop it is for insurance companies to jack up the rates for unsafe operations and lower rates if they implement improvements

[@jimmuo9286]

We dislike government involvement but we won’t take the steps necessary ourselves. It’s so simple and easy to have a proper housekeeping program and basic understanding of safety. Even after accidents companies go right back to bad behavior.

[@trezndawg4240]

That explosion simulation was gigantic, violent and unbelievable!

[@bearsbugs]

@James1toknow Do you clue the people in at those places of the potential bomb above their heads when you find them?

[@Mr.deacle]

I can't help but chuckle every time the narrator says "combustible dust", despite the seriousness of it; it just sounds like something out of a doctor Seuss book or Alice in Wonderland.

[@vinodkumarverma6683]

i have seen a simmering fire in a steel container in my house due to auto oxidation of crushed oilseed. fortunately due to smell of smoke, fire was detected at early stage and possibility of explosion was averted by removing the oilseed powder. the auto oxidation of dusty material is a potential source of explosion.

[@Mr101racecar]

I grew up on a farm and grain dust was a big problem.

[@Serostern]

@watermon1 The fire is the smallest of your problems if you find yourself in a dust explosion.

[@kashmirha]

How many explosion like that happened in the US? Is it still the wild west? Sugar factory, metal factory, aluminium factory, coal dust mine explosion, corn mill explosion. These are only what I heard about. WTF is wrong there???

[@terryofford4977]

In the US of A, factories producing all manner of items are vastly unsafe, then one may look at the Oil Rigs and Natural Gas rigs and it makes one wonder, how the hell do such companies manage with their lackadaisical attitudes toward safety, Oh yes of sourse,THE BOTTOM LINE and also WORKERS are expendable..

[@sarahamira5732]

In the us a lot of politicians value "corporate freedom" over enforcing safety regulations.

[@johnsawyers9365]

My dad work at cta acoustic plant in Corbin Kentucky

[@sr-7124]

Thermite. The aluminum factory had literal thermite laying everywhere. Jfc

[@MsJinkerson]

Aluminum powder is used in solid rocket booters

[@coreyandnathanielchartier3749]

Some industries feel that the action of cleaning facilities of dust can be riskier than leaving it alone. When you vacuum your house, the vacuum cleaner filters out most dust, but the finest dust still makes it through the filters, and into the surrounding air.

[@andybub45]

The CSB is one of the best agencies in Washington.

[@andrew17641]

Suppose you feel a violent shake and see dust dispersed. Is there time to react, and, if so, what is the safest action to take?

[@drgonzo3237]

run like hell

[@jds355]

Hit the floor, hope that the heat will lift the fireball upwards. Running seems futile, even though the explosion would be subsonic you'd end up being thrown across the building. keep your mouth open to hopefully prevent your lungs bursting. It's a real shit situation to be in, it sounds like a cliché but the air around you would literally explode. Hit the deck and pray.

[@trespire]

It's probably too late. Reduce your surface area by making yourself as small as possible might save your internal organs from burning.

[@sladeleason4338]

Kiss your ass goodbye?

[@patrickgardner2204]

Gtfo

[@MichaelMangi]

I'm seeing that a fire has broken out at Domino Sugar in Baltimore today and this was the first video I thought of. Reading up on it, that site had a sugar dust explosion the same year Imperial Sugar in GA did.

[@ggurks]

From 2016 to 2020 13 workers died in dust explosions in the US. Seems a lot of facilities still ignore the problem

[@513morris]

This seems like an especially difficult thing to regulate.

[@charlesmckenzie5250]

Anyone still think we should have less regulation on industry? If so you don’t spend much time in these plants! I do and even in 2022 it’s damn scary

[@GeorgeJansen]

It's 2022.... Keep these coming. Better cgi ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@worawatli8952]

12:17 Respect to this unnamed CSB staff risking his life for this video.

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

I think a big part of it is psychological. The staff become so used to the dusty, grubby workplaces that they become blind to it. 3:50 If the dust in the collection system can ignite how could you prevent it from happening? The system is based on using air to move the dust. Easier to prevent dust from escaping systems in the first place instead of trying to chase it up into ceilings and such. 16:20 I'd say they should've escased the drying process so it wasn't escaping in the first place. Workers must've been constantly breathing that dust also. I'm also unsure what knowing the material safety sheet would've done for employees since they don't have a say in how the systems are designed ($$$).