In today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast, we are covering ten videos that demonstrate and educate about dust explosion hazards. We’re talking specifically about videos of dust explosions themselves: this includes everything from laboratory mock-ups to real-life incidents depicting large scale explosions. In the upcoming podcast, we will examine educational videos crafted by entities like the Chemical Safety Board.
How Did We Select These Videos?
Before we get into the videos, we want to share our strategy behind their selection. In our presentations, we guide audiences through a spectrum of explosions – from small-scale events and intermediate equipment bursts to extensive facility blowouts. This approach gives a holistic view of the potential dangers and their varying intensities.
Three things come to mind when watching these videos. One is the difference between a fire, a flash fire and explosion hazard. The second is that we shouldn’t only be concerned about the blockbuster large-scale explosions that annihilate entire sites; protection against smaller events is equally vital. Third, numerous materials can become combustible dust in industrial contexts. It’s not limited to coal, food, or wood but also encompasses plastics, pharmaceuticals, metals, and many others. In our video showcases, we aim to represent a diverse range of these materials.
Revisiting the point about large-scale explosions: there’s a prevailing notion that our focus should primarily be on protecting against the catastrophic secondary or tertiary deflagrations. Some believe that maintaining good housekeeping, using dust collection systems, and managing fugitive dust levels are sufficient protective measures against dust explosions. This perspective is potentially misguided. Many facilities might witness small-scale deflagrations regularly, which, if they don’t result in immediate harm, could induce a deceptive sense of safety concerning such minor events. These occurrences might be dismissed until a severe injury happens or until they escalate to larger explosions.
Dust Explosions Don’t Have to Be Big to Be Dangerous
Interestingly, most industrial deflagrations don’t always lead to significant casualties. This isn’t widely acknowledged, but while many such events don’t result in loss of life, a significant number do. The challenge lies in combating the creeping complacency and false security that arises from frequently encountering fires or minor explosions without significant consequences. It gives rise to statements like, “We’re merely safeguarding against the major incidents.”
While it’s indeed crucial to protect against large-scale blasts and manage dust effectively, the majority of life-changing injuries, admissions to burn units, production shutdowns, and other severe disruptions often stem from smaller deflagrations. Overlooking consecutive minor events can dangerously mislead us into believing that protection against such occurrences is no longer essential.
These smaller explosions might not garner attention from extensive US Chemical Safety Board documentaries, but they hold immense importance. That’s why standards like NFPA 652, and the forthcoming NFPA 660, go beyond merely addressing fugitive dust issues.
Consultants, equipment providers, and industry experts have witnessed and interacted with sites and individuals affected by these so-called “small deflagrations,” flash fires, or explosions within smaller vessels. These incidents can be as devastating as a minor site experiencing a fire in its dust collector. If someone investigates and experiences blowback, resulting in permanent injuries, it poses numerous challenges, from infections to severe physical trauma.
We must safeguard against these risks. The essence is to convey that dangers lurk at every scale, not confined to fugitive dust. While addressing that is essential, we also emphasize the protection of individual equipment and guarding against flash fire hazards throughout a facility. In these videos, we aim to span the spectrum from small to large scale to elucidate the distinctions among fire, flash fire, and explosion hazards. We highlight the need to recognize both minor and major deflagrations and acknowledge that nearly all materials in industrial contexts pose a potential combustible dust risk. Only a limited set of materials are exempt from this threat, and they are indeed a minority in industrial processing.
Respect is Important
Most clips will feature individuals who might have suffered losses, whether personal, among peers, or loved ones. When utilizing these videos for educational purposes, it’s important to be sensitive. We’ve been a part of presentations where audience members have approached us post-session, revealing their connection to the incidents discussed. Such experiences underscore the need for utmost discretion and empathy in our approach. Most of the time, the only difference between the site that had the explosion and the site that didn’t have the explosion is luck. We have to be really cognizant of that.
Smaller Explosions
Video #1: Surprise! Exploding Birthday Cake!
The first video, titled “Surprise Exploding Birthday Cake” showcases the unexpected consequences of powdered icing sugar on a birthday cake. Hosted on the Science Channel’s YouTube page, the scene unfolds with a teenager poised to blow out his birthday candles. As the room fills with “Happy Birthday” chants, an unforeseen two-foot fireball erupts in his direction when he tries to blow out the candles.
Fortunately, no injuries resulted from the incident. The stark contrast between the cheerful celebrations and the startling explosion offers an impactful introduction to the topic of dust explosions.
The video also features British scientists explaining the mechanics of dust explosions. They discuss the significance of surface area regarding powdered sugar molecules on the cake and the precise conditions necessary for a flame to ignite one particle without affecting its neighbors. As a discussion opener about dust explosions, this video is both enlightening and thankfully, devoid of actual harm.
Video #2: Cinnamon Dust Deflagration
This second video features a Danish individual caught in a cinnamon dust deflagration. This footage, shared by The Sun UK edition, appears to showcase what might seem unusual to many but is a local tradition in Denmark.
In this practice, individuals who remain single beyond the age of 25 have spices poured over them. The ritual involves drenching the person with water and then showering them with spices, traditionally cinnamon. The underlying notion might be hinting at the person being destined to be a spice merchant due to their unmarried status.
In the video, as the man’s friends drench him with water and begin emptying small bags of cinnamon on him, an unforeseen event unfolds. After a couple of bags have been emptied, there’s an unexpected ignition resulting in a significant flash. The individual gets engulfed in flames, making for a startling scene. The video concludes abruptly with him on the ground. From what we’ve gathered, while he did sustain some burns to his thighs, the prior drenching with water might have protected him from more severe burns.
Video #3: Dust Explosion Using Corn Starch
This is one we asked for permission to share from Dr. Henry Brewer at Redeemer University. The video was shot, we believe, in 2012 in Ontario at Redeemer University and is titled “Dust Explosion Using Corn Starch.” It shows Dr. Brewer spooning some cornstarch into a funnel and then blowing through the funnel over an open candle. This results in a sizable two to three-foot fireball erupting from the funnel’s end.
This demonstrates just how straightforward it can be to initiate a dust deflagration. We’ve also heard of others demonstrating this using site-specific materials to highlight their reactivity when dispersed.
Intermediate Scale Explosions
Video #4: Creamer Dust Explosion
This video addresses what it looks like when there’s an explosion in a dust collector box, a cyclone, or another piece of equipment. It is a creamer dust explosion in a 55-gallon drum, available on the Dan Leuthner YouTube channel. We typically showcase this video for two primary reasons. First, it illustrates the impact of confinement and second, it emphasizes that significant amounts aren’t necessary to produce considerable force from a dust explosion.
In the video, they systematically add two to four ounces of creamer powder to this 55-gallon drum. There’s a sequence where they only disperse the dust, followed by another with ignition but no lid. Afterward, they place the lid atop the drum and ignite. Finally, they secure the lid with a clamp and repeat the ignition process.
The initial demonstrations with the open top and loosely placed lid are relatively mild. A fireball emerges, but it’s not overly alarming. However, when the lid is clamped securely, the resulting explosion is considerably more violent. The force propels the lid upwards, producing a loud noise and bending the lid due to the deflagration’s impact. This clearly demonstrates that as confinement increases in open-air deflagrations, the container can rupture. The intensity of this rupture correlates with the container’s strength. If a vessel is robust but insufficient to withstand the entire deflagration throughout the combustion process, the rupture can be even more violent.
This video underscores two main points: the significance of confinement on explosions and the fact that minimal volumes can cause substantial damage. If someone were standing over the drum when its lid flew off, or if the lid was fastened more securely and released later during the deflagration, the explosion in such 55-gallon vessels could gravely injure bystanders from the impact, shrapnel, or other flying debris.
Larger Scale Explosions
Video #5: Explosion at Furniture Manufacturer
This video from Abbotsford, British Columbia, features firefighters tackling a blaze at a furniture manufacturing facility, specifically outside in a silo. We believe they were storing materials like sawdust or wood chips in the silo. The footage can be found on the Cam Productions YouTube channel.
It captures firefighters responding to the blaze in the wood shavings silo, directing their hoses to the silo’s base, attempting to suppress and cool the flames. Suddenly, a 40 to 50-foot open-air deflagration emerges, engulfing three firefighters. One gets pushed back significantly, perhaps ten feet, due to the force from the explosion. The entire scene is deeply unsettling but fortunately, none of the firefighters sustained injuries.
We often showcase this video to raise hypothetical scenarios for our audience. For instance, had the firefighters not been equipped with full protective gear, or had there been a worker merely in overalls, the outcomes would have been catastrophic due to the explosion’s force and potential burn injuries.
Consider if this silo was indoors. The magnitude of that blast indicates that if it had occurred within an enclosed, unvented space with no open exits, it would likely have compromised the building structure. Such an event could result in debris falling, widespread fires, and other disastrous consequences. Ponder on the potential outcome if the explosion had been within the silo rather than outside. The repercussions could have included shrapnel or even the silo collapsing.
Another situation to consider: what if the firefighters had been positioned atop a ladder? This is a scenario that often occurs, with firefighters or workers ascending to a higher vantage point to target the flames in the silo. Should a similar deflagration happen, it could knock them off their perch. Tragically, such incidents are not uncommon when addressing fires in silos or equipment. Hence, we frequently reference this video when discussing larger equipment-scale incidents.
Video #6: Grain Silo Collapse
This footage can be found on the Daily Mail’s YouTube channel. It captures a man filming a grain silo as it begins to crumble. He mentions in the video that the silo contains around 10,000 bushels of grain. As the structure weakens, its bolts and rivets give way. The grain starts pouring out, creating a massive dust cloud which subsequently results in a significant open-air deflagration.
Reacting to the unfolding chaos, the man filming can be heard uttering some explicit remarks before leaping over the hood of his truck, reminiscent of a movie scene, to avoid the blast. While we shouldn’t make light of such situations, and to our knowledge no one was harmed, the sight of him evading the explosion in such a manner is quite remarkable. It’s evident they maintained a significant distance from the silo, but had they been closer, the outcome could have been dire. We often share this video to illustrate large-scale incidents that can occur with such equipment.
Video #7: 2015 New Taipei Water Park explosion
One of the most significant open-air deflagrations we’re aware of occurred at the Formosa Fun Coast Water Park in 2015, often referred to as the New Taipei Water Park explosion. We won’t provide links to these videos in our notes, but they are searchable online.
The footage from the event is both harrowing and disturbing. Coloured cornstarch was being sprayed onto the crowd, a practice that is quite popular at concerts, music videos, and global celebrations. However, it comes with inherent risks. In this situation, the cornstarch settled on the ground while large blowers dispersed more into the air, forming a dense cloud. It is believed that the powder came into contact with some overheated stage lights, triggering a massive deflagration.
This explosion and subsequent burning of the cornstarch on the ground spanned around 40 seconds. In this short time, 508 individuals sustained burns, with 199 of them being in critical condition. It’s an extremely tragic and impactful event. While there have been incidents with higher fatality counts, this particular one stands out due to the available footage, which provides a stark visualization of the dangers involved.
Entire Facility Explosions
Video #8: Coal Powder Plant Explosion
At least five people were injured in a massive explosion at Engro Powergen Thar Limited’s coal power plant in Thar Block II in 2022. A video obtained by SAMAA TV shows the blast ripping through the building
Video #9: Grain Elevator Explosion
Surveillance footage captured the explosion’s aftermath, with windows torn apart and debris scattered everywhere. No one was injured, but news reports stated that in 2012, the grain processing facility had been cited for several safety violations during an OSHA inspection.
Video #10: Grain Bin Explosion
In 2018 a grain elevator explosion occurred in Eureka, Illinois. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the explosion was significant.
Conclusion
These videos reveal the diversity of materials that can ignite under the right circumstances, emphasizing the importance of understanding and respecting the hidden dangers associated with seemingly harmless materials in various settings. While larger, catastrophic explosions often garner significant attention, it is imperative to recognize that even smaller deflagrations can have life-altering consequences.
Safety is a collective responsibility, and complacency can lead to devastating outcomes. This discussion reiterates the importance of awareness and vigilance in safeguarding against potential hazards, reminding us that often, the line between safety and disaster is a mere matter of chance or timely intervention.
If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our ‘Questions from the Community’ page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode.
Resources mentioned
The resources mentioned in this episode are listed below.
Dust Safety Science
Combustible Dust Incident Database
Dust Safety Science Podcast
Questions from the Community
Dust Safety Academy
Dust Safety Professionals
Organizations
NFPA
Videos
Surprise Exploding Birthday Cake
Cinnamon Dust Deflagration
Dust Explosion Using Corn Starch
Creamer Dust Explosion
Abbotsford Furniture Explosion
Grain Silo Collapse
Coal Powder Plant Explosion
Grain Elevator Explosion
Grain Bin Explosion
Thanks for Listening!
To share your thoughts:
- Leave a note in the comment section below
- Ask a question to be answered on the show
- Share this episode on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook
To help out the show:
- Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes
- Leave a review and rate our show in iTunes to help the podcast reach more people
Download the Episode
DSS242: 10 Videos to Demonstrate and Educate About Dust Explosion Hazards
