POSTED BY Olivia Vache
As our community fears a rampant spread of Ebola, plane sabotage, and global climate change, the U.S. Appeals Court has decided that the next new terror in the American market is grains. I am not one to say that obesity isn’t a problem in the U.S., however this is not what the court is concerned about here. According to the U.S. Appeals Court on October 24th, the dust produced by grain manufacturing is now classified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) as a “hazardous chemical.” Who knew that the U.S. would be looking at such a dangerous problem right under its nose? After a long debate over the classification of grain dust between industry leaders, such as National Oilseed Processors Association and the American Feed Industry Association, and OSHA, the Appeals court on Friday struck down challenges against grain-dust’s “hazardous chemical” classification.
This grain dust qualifies as a combustible dust, one of many compounds that create an explosive effect if treated incorrectly. The danger behind combustible dust is the collection of particles, either airborne or on a surface, which when heated up, are enough to cause a sudden, violent combustion of the dust particles. More specifically, if oxygen, heat, and dust disperse in a confined environment, it is considered a “Dust Explosions Pentagon” – a perfect environment where grain particles can combust. The real danger in this process is not the initial explosion. If the primary explosion takes place within an environment where it can dislodge more particles from the surrounding area, it essentially creates a particulate path for it to travel. The new dislodged material not only feed the explosion to create a second explosion, but also give the initial starter a lightning fast and rapidly expanding means by which to travel. If there is more than one pile of dust in a facility, there is a very high chance that after one pile combusts, all will combust within seconds. Other combustible dust particles include those from metal, rubber, coal, plastic, and even sugar manufacturing, all of which have a similar startling effect when heated. It’s no wonder dust explosions are a problem in grain-handling or other manufacturing facilities with high heat motors, where there are friction laden conveyer belts and a plethora of other high temperature equipment.
When looking at the history of grain-handling facilities, it seems as if this classification may be coming a little late. In the past 35 years, there have been over 500 explosions caused by grain dust, taking 180 lives and injuring 675 individuals. OSHA has taken great pains to introduce new safety regulations to require manufactures to keep their facilities safer by introducing new housekeeping, hazard location, hazard communication, and electric power generation standards among others.
However, are OSHA’s new rules, which will be imposed on grain-handling facilities, enough to reduce risk? One of the cheapest and easiest ways to combat dust flammability is by simply using water. In the past, grain-handlers have shied away from using water because it counteracts the additives they include in their products to make them last longer; essentially, by adding water, it causes the manufactured grains to spoil faster. The faster it spoils the less they can ship out making their business less profitable. The only place that a handler uses water to combat dust retention is in elevators. The majority of explosions that cause severe destruction start in a facility’s elevator shaft. An elevator is the perfect place for a dust fire to start. It’s difficult to clean, small, and an enclosed space, which often fills up with manufactured dust and other particles. Dusting and housekeeping can only go so far to protect workers from a combustion incident, but by using a fine spray of water, it can alleviate much more of the risk.
As helpful as regulations on manufacturing facility standards are, there are simply issues with handling grain-dust along with many other manufactured byproduct dusts. This issue pertains more closely to manufacturer’s power over regulatory strength. It’s amazing that it took 35 years to classify this dust as hazardous. It’s even more amazing that manufactures are still trying to fight the OSHA’s regulatory arm. So the question is, what is more important: the profitability by using additives in our grains, or the safety of the work staff praying that they are cleaning up properly? This argument is far from over. With powerful participants such as OSHA, National Oilseed Processors Association and the American Feed Industry Association, this debate is going to be baking for quite a long time.
Bio: Olivia is a Staff Member of the Journal of High Technology Law. She is currently a 2L at Suffolk Law with a concentration in Intellectual Property and Technology and Innovation. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Sarah Lawrence College in New York.
