2021 Combustible Dust Incident Report Summary

This post gives a summary of the dust fires and explosions uploaded into the combustible dust incident database in 2021.

These incidents are captured in our incident report along with a detailed analysis of the materials, industries and equipment involved.

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Summary of Incidents Recorded

A summary of the incidents recorded is given in the following figure from the report.

These are further broken down into fires and explosions occurring in North America and internationally throughout the world.

We have been recording combustible dust incidents as part of DustSafetyScience.com since 2016.

The following table compares the number of incidents, injuries and fatalities entered into the database since we started recording.

Loss History – United States

Loss history from dust explosions in the United States over the last five years is given in the following table. This data has been collected in the incident database and reported in the combustible dust incident reports, 2016 to 2021.

This data gives an average of 30 dust explosions per year, 27 injuries and 2.3 fatalities over the last six years. Note that dust fires are excluded in this analysis.

2021 Global Loss Overview

In 2021, one mine explosion and subsequent dust fire in Gramoteino, Russia impacted the data more than any other incident, accounting for over 49% of the year’s injuries and 73% of the fatalities:

51 Killed in Coal Mine Explosion (Gramoteino, Russia)

Of the other injuries, 83% occurred due to explosions and 17% occurred due to fires. For the other fatalities, all but one were due to dust explosions. Some of the more severe incidents include:

One Killed in Wood Dust Explosion (Klaipeda, Lithuania)

Three Killed in Sawmill Explosion (Beauceville, Quebec)

Six Killed in Coal Mine Explosion (Saran, Kazakhstan)

Plant Fire Injures Three, $1M in Damages (Memphis, TN)

Materials Involved

In reviewing the global incident data, food and wood products made up nearly 75% of the combustible dust fires and explosions recorded.

These materials resulted in 23% of the injuries and 12% of the fatalities. Coal was the most deadly material, accounting for over 53% of the injuries and 87% of this year’s fatalities. This is largely due to the catastrophic mine explosion and subsequent ventilation fire in Russia. A breakdown of the fires, explosions, injuries and fatalities for each material is given as follows:

Twelve of the metal dust injuries, and the lone fatality, were results of two separate aluminum dust explosions. The other four injuries involved an explosion at a zinc powder facility. The nine injuries from textiles were sustained in an explosion at a packaging production plant.

Under the category of “Other,” two injuries came from explosions involving rubber dust. Four workers were also injured in an unspecified chemical dust explosion at a pharmaceutical plant.

Industries Involved

As shown in the historical data (see the full report), wood processing, wood products, agricultural activity and food production make up a large portion of the overall fire and explosion incidents. Since 2017 wood and wood products have ranged from 19% to 28% of the incidents, while agricultural activity and food production has ranged from 33% to 50%.

As shown in the detailed incident breakdown, the “other” category includes pulp & paper, ethanol, high schools, and educational facilities. Industries not broken out in the detailed breakdown include rubber products, lawn products, graphite and carbon products, food packaging, pharmaceutical, residential, plastics and waste treatment.

Combined, the overall “other” category of industries makes up 19% of the injuries reported in 2021. Wood and wood products, agriculture and food processing, and automotive and metalworking make up 14%, 8% and 6% of the injuries, respectively. Mining accounted for 50% of injuries and 83% of fatalities this year, mostly due to the tragic mine explosion in Russia. Overall, fatalities were recorded in wood and wood products, metal working, agricultural, food processing, power generation, and mining operations.

Equipment & Causes

In 2021, storage silos demonstrated the highest percentage of combustible dust incidents with 34 fires and 12 explosions reported. This is a higher percentage than the 2017 and 2018 reports which found that dust collection systems had the highest percentage of incidents occur. In 2021, only 13% of the fires and explosions occurred in dust collection systems.

Of the incidents with known equipment, dryers had the largest number of injuries in 2021 with four injuries in a pharmaceutical dryer explosion, three injuries in a rice dryer malfunction, two injuries in a grain dryer explosion and one injury in a wood pulp dryer explosion.

Nine storage silo and bin explosions resulted in six more injuries and one fatality. The breakdown between fires, explosions, injuries and fatalities for different pieces of equipment are summarized the following table for 2021:

Of the incidents where equipment is known, equipment labeled “Other” made up 17% of the incidents, 26% of the injuries and 33% of the fatalities. These incidents include a gas dryer explosion that injured six, and a boiler explosion in a sawdust facility that injured two and killed one. Incidents where no details were provided for the equipment made up 20% of the total reported. However, these incidents made up 80% of the reported injuries and 96% of the reported fatalities.

**Disclaimer

The contents of the incident reports are generated using publicly available news articles and resources. The data is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant as a replacement for professional guidance. Due to reliance on third-party news agencies, incomplete articles, and limited analysis methods, DustEx Research Ltd. makes no warranties or guarantees to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.