In today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast, we present an incident update for the 2021 coal dust explosion in Baltimore, Maryland. These incident updates are shorter episodes based on the enhanced research we’re doing with our incident database. Running this database is part of our “Road To Zero” mission to see one year of zero fatalities worldwide from combustible dust explosions by 2038.
Previous incident updates are as follows:
- In Episode #191, we covered a 2021 seed preparation facility explosion in Silverton, Oregon. Through the Freedom of Information Act, we obtained the local fire department’s report on that fatal dust explosion incident and provided additional information for this incident in that episode.
- In Episode #192, we examined a flour dust explosion in Savannah, Georgia. Once again, we were able to find the local fire department report, request that information and provide more context and technical input into what happened that day.
- In Episode #193, we reviewed updates for a potato starch explosion in Tuas, Singapore. According to a government report we accessed, the bulk of the destruction and loss of life from that explosion was caused by an oil mist- a liquid-fuel explosion- and not by a potato starch deflagration.
Overview of Coal Dust Explosion in Baltimore, Maryland
The coal dust explosion in Baltimore, Maryland occurred on December 30th, 2021. The location was run by a railroad company that operated in both the United States and Canada. According to news reports, there was an explosion shortly after 11:30 a.m. as coal was being removed from the conveyor. This explosion blew out the windows of nearby buildings. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Maryland Occupational Safety & Health sent the company a citation and notification of penalty after its post-incident OSHA inspection. This letter summarized the citations and violations, which resulted in substantial fines. In total, there were nine serious penalties covering seven items and it totalled $121,200 in penalties. OSHA initially levies these penalties, which are subject to contest, reduction, or drop depending on the investigation and discussions with the company.
Item #1: Respirators and Emergency Protective Equipment
Item number one, which amounted to around $23,000 in penalties, involved the use of respirators and emergency protective equipment during repair activities and in what they call the Northwest Escape Tunnel. The first citation addressed respiratory protection. The employees entered tunnels for work activities such as unclogging blocked hatchway feeders, resetting conveyor lines, and resetting hatchway feeders without using respirators.
Item #2: Respirators and Emergency Protective Equipment
Item number two, which resulted in citations and penalties of $14,500, was for not having a written Respiratory Protection program. It states that:
- Employees entered the North Tunnel to unclog the blocked coal hatchway feeder and were not wearing respiratory protection where there could be overexposure to coal dust.
- The employer had not developed a written Respiratory Protection program.
Item #3: Documentation Designating Hazardous and Classified Locations
Item number three, which also incurred $14,500 in penalties, was documentation designating hazardous and classified locations. It states that in the North Tunnel and Northwest Escape Tunnel, the employer did not provide any documentation designating the areas within the coal terminal with a designated hazardous classified location.
Item #4: Equipment Used in Hazardous Locations
Item number four, which has penalties amounting to $29,000, addresses the equipment used in hazardous locations. It states that equipment used in hazardous locations was not approved for ignitable or combustible properties of the specific gas, vapour, dust or fibre that was or could have been present in the Northwest Escape Tunnel. In the same tunnel, electrical equipment, including a control panel, overhead lighting and an outlet and transformer were not explosion-proof.
Item #5: Testing to Identify a Potential Hazardous Area
Item number five is testing to identify a potential hazardous area. In this case, they say the employer did not ensure that a properly equipped, designated person tested the atmosphere in rooms, buildings, vehicles, railcars or other spaces that contained or may have contained hazardous atmosphere prior to employee entry. Specifically, air testing was not performed by a designated person prior to employees entering the North Tunnel to remove blockages in the coal hatchway feeder.
There’s also a penalty for not providing carbon monoxide testing in the North Tunnel or the Northwest Escape Tunnel during the process of resetting the conveyor lines, as well as a penalty involving the training of supervisors in cargo-handling operations: more than five people did not satisfactorily complete an accident prevention course.
Additional Items
- Employees working near the transfer tower to unclog the blocked hatchway were exposed to coal dust and methane gas, which are the conditions for explosion hazard.
- The employer failed to develop a site-specific emergency action plan that would include procedures to be followed by employees responsible for the plant operations under these conditions.
Was It a Dust Explosion?
We’re still not clear exactly what happened in this incident – what the sequence of operations was, what potential ignition sources were. OSHA’s investigation appears to be focused on December 30th, 2021 activities in the North Tunnel and the Northwest Escape Tunnel. They do not say in the citation report that these activities led to an explosion, so at present we can’t be sure whether it was a dust explosion, gas explosion or even a hybrid mixture explosion.
The local news reported one resident seeing three plumes of black smoke after a series of explosions. It’s possible that these black plumes of smoke would indicate a coal dust explosion. Baltimore firefighters stated that there was a five-storey coal silo that suffered an apparent explosion, and that shockwaves could be felt city-wide, but more specific information is not available right now.
Conclusion
In addition to improving how we report these incidents, we’re also creating a database that can be used for awareness activities. If you work in a coal transport facility or a coal transport terminal, then you may find this information really valuable to pass along or keep in mind while doing your work. We hope that as more information becomes available, it will be used to further safety in similar facilities worldwide.
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
Dust Safety Science
Combustible Dust Incident Database
Dust Safety Science Podcast
Questions from the Community
Dust Safety Academy
Dust Safety Professionals
Dust Safety Share
Incidents:
Coal Dust Explosion at Railroad Facility Damages Nearby Properties
Documents
Previous Episodes:
DSS191: Incident Update – 2021 Seed Preparation Facility Explosion in Silverton, Oregon
DSS192: Incident Update – 2021 Flour Dust Explosion in Savannah, Georgia
DSS193: Incident Update – 2021 Potato Starch Explosion in Tuas, Singapore
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