February 27, 2024
No increase in dust explosion incidents last year; 10-year average remains unchanged
Kingsly Ambrose, Purdue University professor of agricultural and biological engineering, is the author of an annual summary recording nationwide grain dust explosions. He reported nine incidents in 2023, all occurring in the Midwest, in the corn handling or processing industries. (Purdue Agricultural Communications photo/Tom Campbell)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The annual summary recording nationwide grain dust explosions reported nine incidents in the United States in 2023, resulting in 12 injuries but no fatalities.
“Dust explosions are one of the most serious hazards that can occur in the grain industry,” said Kingsly Ambrose, Purdue University professor of agricultural and biological engineering and report author. “The explosions can also lead to significant financial and personal losses from downtime, repair, injuries and fatalities.”
Last year’s nine incidents marked no increase from the nine reported incidents in 2022. The 10-year average of 8.4 explosions remains relatively unchanged. Notably, this average is significantly lower than the average number of incidents that occurred prior to the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s grain handling standard in 1988.
Ambrose said all the explosions occurred in the Midwest, most of them taking place in the corn handling or processing industry.
The explosions occurred in one ethanol plant, one wheat mill, two grain elevators, two soybean processing plants, two corn processing plants and one corncob processing plant. The probable ignition sources were identified in two cases as fire and another as equipment malfunction, while six cases were from unknown sources. Fuel sources for all nine of the explosions were identified as grain dust.
The dust explosions occurred in four different states, with three each in Illinois and Minnesota, two in Iowa, and one in Indiana.
“There is a critical need to educate the workers and employers on dust explosion prevention within a facility, including assessments of dust accumulation and dust explosion protection methods,” Ambrose said.
He further stressed the need to develop relevant and practical hands-on educational materials to raise awareness and adoption of prevention technologies by grain handling and processing facilities.
Purdue has been involved in collecting data related to grain dust explosions in the U.S. since 2015.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
Writer/Media contact: Ashvini Malshe, 765-496-7480, malshea@purdue.edu
Source: Kingsly Ambrose, 765-494-6599, rambrose@purdue.edu
Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;
Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu
