Government agencies are poised to more strictly enforce regulations, and operators in the grain handling and feed manufacturing industry are going to need to know the rules as they evolve or face the consequences.
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) study sharpened its focus in 2006 with its Combustible Dust Hazard Study, in which it reported that from 1980 to 2005, combustible dusts caused 281 incidents that killed 119 workers and injured 718. Even with the increased attention generated by the 2003 incidents and the CSB findings, an additional 16 deaths and 84 injuries occurred from 2006 to 2008.
Few would argue that the catastrophic 2008 dust explosion at Imperial Sugar Refinery that claimed 14 lives and over $275 million in damages forever changed the face of dust control regulations. Noting poor housekeeping, flawed design and the failure to properly maintain equipment as contributing and preventative factors in explosion, OSHA brought down $8.7 million in fines against the company for its “willful” safety violations.
At this time, National Fire Prevention Association guidelines were adopted by OSHA and the government as enforceable laws.
In October of 2009, OSHA published an “advanced notice of proposed rulemaking.” In the criteria outlines in this document outlined potential risks to the grain handling industry, most notably that the housekeeping action level of 1/8 inch dust standard could be lowered to 1/16 inch — or even down to 1/32 inch.
Holding other sectors besides elevators to similar housekeeping standards puts too much emphasis on dust may lead to too little attention on other risks, e.g., explosion-prevention tools, such as controlling ignition controls, conducting preventive maintenance, and using equipment monitoring to detect high temperatures and overloads, noted Paul A. Luther, EHS manager, Land-O-Lakes.
Current standard applies to grain elevators, feed mills, flour mills, rice mills, dust pelletizing plants, dry corn mills, etc,. The provisions applying only to grain elevators include:
- Fugitive Grain Dust: Requirement to remove fugitive dust when it exceeds 1/8 inch in designated elevator priority housekeeping areas: 1) floor areas within 35 feet of inside bucket elevators; 2) floors of enclosed areas containing grinding equipment; and 3) floors of enclosed areas containing grain dryers located inside the facility
- Inside bucket elevators; emergency escape; continuous-flow grain dryers
According to Luther, the new NFPA Combustible Dust Agenda lumps five combustible dust documents (Agricultural and Food Processing Dust, Metal Dust, combustible particles, sulfur dust and wood dust) into one rule. The NGFA’s stance is that section 61 – the guideline specific to grain elevators — should be excluded from this conglomeration because these industry categories are vastly different so a combined standard will be confusing and dilute the proven impact of the principles outline in standard 61.
Many in the grain handling industry feel the existing grain handling standard is sufficient to address combustible dusts, and should be applied to other agriculture-related sectors not currently encompassed by the standard, noting that the grain handling standard would be a good model for a combustible dust standard, citing the effectiveness of its housekeeping section.
The Standards Council will meet in January 2011 to discuss this consolidation.
In a July 2010 web-based stakeholder meeting, OSHA officials had not yet established a timeline for completing action on a combustible dust standard; however, OSHA said that a Small Business Advocacy Review panel will be established by April 2011 to review the draft proposed rule and related analyses prepared by OSHA. The panel will have 120 days to consider the proposal and provide recommendations. Given this development, it appears OSHA will not issue a proposed standard until fall 2011 at the earliest.
“Based on this schedule, it appears OSHA may not issue a proposed standard until fall 2011, at the earliest,” Luther says.
This topic was addressed at an educational session at the NGFA’s Country Elevator Conference held Dec. 6, 2010 in Indianapolis, IN.
Speaker Jonathan Snare, partner in the labor and employment practice group for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, pointed to the shift in power during the mid-term election will complicates OSHA’s efforts as a Republican majority in the House will make it difficult to achieve these objectives through legislation. He predicts OSHA will continue to implement as many policies as they can through non-legislative means. Without the support of the Congress, it will mold current law through writing stricter regulations or make new interpretations of existing OSHA standards.
If this is the case, the combustible dust bill could be implemented as a regulation without a vote from Congress.
“The government shouldn’t have to impose these rules on the industry, we should already know what’s wrong and right and act accordingly,” says Delmar Maines, Rolfes@Boone
Communicating value
Vendors find it difficult to translate the cost of purchasing, operating and maintaining an efficient dust control system.
“One the surface, grain elevators do not perceive dust control systems to be a moneymaker,” explains Maines. “With a piece of equipment, like a conveyor, it’s easy to calculate ROI; however, with dust control, it’s harder to monetize.”
Chant agrees: “If you put in a new receiving pit and go from 10,000 bushels to 20,000, you can justify the cost because you’ve doubled your capacity, you can see a pay back. Putting in a dust control system you can prevent explosions or an EPA fine, aside from compliance, I’m sure corners would be cut.”
Oftentimes, facility managers don’t know what to expect from a dust control system. This lack of interest or lack of knowledge can translate to poor decision making that could bear consequences down the road. The benefits go beyond simply showing the EPA or OSHA you are in compliance; it’s more than a necessary evil.
“The general attitude should shift, [operators] should realize they should approach dust control like any other piece of equipment and it should be operated and maintained accordingly,” Maines says.
When you know you are purchasing a good system, you are also investing in piece of mind.
“If you buy a cheap system, you’re going to get poor results,” Maines says.
The benefits of a quality dust collection system
Regulations aside, there are many benefits to investing in a quality dust collection system.
• Safety
The formula for a dust explosion is simple: oxygen + fuel + spark = the right conditions. dust hazards also involve dust particles suspended in the air and containment of those particles
A responsible manager is cognizant of any activities that could potentially produce a spark, and be diligent about enforcing the rules.
While even the best dust control may not be able to prevent an explosion, it will lessen the damage if the system is designed properly with explosion panels and if other preventative measures are taken.
“Any potential loss of life is a critical issue. We’ve done a better job, and considering the increased throughputs, the last few years the relative decrease is more substantial since the frequency of explosions per million bushels is down,” Chant says.
Reduce risk of damage from an explosion. “I’d never say a dust control system will prevent an explosion – with factors like fuel and oxygen even taking every precaution may not pay off —but it can reduce the amount of damage done by the secondary explosion by reducing the fuel supply,” Maines says.
With or without a dust control system, management should make it a point to keep its facilities clean.
• You’re being a good employer
A safer and cleaner work environment fosters improved employee morale. Adopting a well maintained facility perpetuates a culture of compliance, but starts at the top and works its way down.
• Lowered operating costs
“Even if you have the best dust control system in the world, you’ll still need a broom and shovel in the facility, just not as many and it won’t consume as much time,” Chant says.
No dust system will eliminate the need for housekeeping, but it will save on the amount of time housekeeping takes.
“Consider the opportunity cost savings: If you have a good dust control system it can replace the times wasted by an employee doing extra cleaning,” he says.
Dependability is another benefit of an efficient system; no one wants to have a system that demands a lot of attention.
“If you have issues on a dedicated system it affects everything,” Boston says.
James Boston, product development with Donaldson Torit, improved energy efficiency is a major concern, and the costs of running fans can be reduced with an efficient system. In addition, improved filter life, the frequency of maintenance and the predictability of maintenance will also improve efficiency. The value is the ability to schedule service intervals when it is convenient and to do maintenance quickly to reduce downtime.
• Insurance savings
As a safety issue, it’s also an insurance issue.
“The cleaner your facility the less you premium will be. As you keep records in order so when they do come to audit you, sometimes they won’t even walk your facility if your records are in order,” Krebs says.
The better your system is, the better it’s maintained, the less capital expenditure you’ll have, plus the continued expenditure on that, meaning you’ll have the initial capital expenditure. Kreb suggests inviting your insurance carrier’s trained personnel into your facility to show them what you’re trying to do to improve safety and ask them to drop your premium.
“If you have a clean working environment, nine out of 10 times you’ll get insurance company to drop the premium — or at least consider it,” he says.
Responsible management
As “well run” companies acquire existing facilities, immediately make the investment in dust upgrades and refurbishment, Mains says: “The companies with a culture of quality understand an effective system will cost more and they’re willing to invest in dust control equipment see the value. It really speaks to their corporate culture and their competency in effective management.”
Start by going to the federal register and pulling down the guidelines pertaining to the grain handling industry, and make sure you are familiar with them.
Krebs suggestions operator’s objectively evaluate their facility, and catalogue all the dust collection points and equipment they have to date to get a handle on the current state of their ability to comply with the law.
“Take a look at your facility and do an internal audit and see what could be improved,” he says. “A lot of it is going to come down upon the operators to keep up, OSHA and EPA will come in asking for records and looking for daily data and I don’t think a lot of people in the feed and grain industry are prepared for this — or they aren’t aware they should be doing that at all. If you have documents and record, you’ll be OK; but if you don’t, they’re going to come down on you pretty hard.”
Many states offer free guidance for proactive facilities. The local agencies will come in to review the facility and offer guidance to be in compliance — this occurs without the threat of being fined for violations.
“It’s a changing world, a facility manager really has to be on top of this, it’s really part of his business plan to keep his dust collection systems in tip-top shape because in the end it’s going to make his life easier from both the government and private sector standpoint,” Krebs says.
For more information about OSHA standard 1910.272 visit http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9874.
