Imperial Sugar blast preventable, CSB says
Posted by Clarion Safety Systems | 24th Sep 2009
Here's the latest from Chemical Safety Board on the explosion at the Imperial Sugar facility in Georgia. In sum, proper cleaning and maintenance procedures would have gone a long way to preventing this. This is from the official CSB release on Sept. 24:
"In a final draft report released today, CSB investigators said the February 7, 2008, explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, resulted from ongoing releases of sugar from inadequately designed and maintained dust collection equipment, conveyors, and sugar handling equipment. Inadequate housekeeping practices allowed highly combustible sugar dust and granulated sugar to build up throughout the refinery's packing buildings, CSB investigators concluded."
See more from the CSB here.
And see the CSB video on combustible dust here.
NOTE: Proper signage with explicit messages and up-to-date symbols can help instruct workers and maintenance staff about cleaning procedures, a critically important thing to preventing conditions that could lead to a combustible dust explosion. Email one of the experts at Clarion Safety Systems for more information; signs can be tailored to company procedures.