Industrial Vaccuum Cleaners: They're Not Your Mother's Cleaning Tools

In July 2008, OSHA proposed an $8.77 million fine against Imperial Sugar Co. for violations related to a Feb. 7, 2008 explosion at the company's refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga. This blast, which was caused when combustible sugar dust ignited, killed 13 workers and injured more than 40 others.

Since that explosion, lawmakers have urged OSHA to create a specific, dust-related standard. In the meantime, the agency has looked to standards already on its books to protect workers.

Under intense scrutiny since the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) released its 2006 Combustible Dust Hazard Study, OSHA is taking action to amend is General Industry Housekeeping provision, 1910.22. The amendment to the housekeeping requirements comes as a result of employers' misinterpretation of housekeeping standards already included in the provision.

In a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, Edwin G. Foulke Jr., former assistant secretary of OSHA, said the provision would “state more explicitly what has always been true: that the standard applies to accumulations of dust that contribute to an explosion hazard. This clarification of language in the Housekeeping provision will eliminate any doubt that employers are obligated to prevent combustible dust from accumulating in their workplaces.”

Although OSHA's General Industry Housekeeping provision 1910.22 does not specifically address housekeeping and fugitive dust, other OSHA standards such as the Dust Control Handbook For Minerals Processing and OSHA's Grain Handling Facilities Standard, as well as MSHA regulations for coal mines, do address fugitive dust and suggest that operations “eliminate the use of compressed air jets to clean accumulated dust from the equipment or clothing and substitute a vacuum cleaning system” and “use a vacuum cleaning system to clean spills and dust accumulations. Avoid brooms and shovels.” (The problem with using brooms and air compressors is that they just blow the dust around, resulting in small particles that settle onto elevated surfaces.)

However, there continues to be a lack of regulation regarding the handling of fugitive dust for general industry including food products, rubbers, metal, wood, pharmaceuticals, plastics, paint and coatings and synthetic organic chemicals.

VACUUM CLEANING FIRST DEFENSE

In nearly all industries, with the exception of the metals industry, the NFPA recommends vacuum cleaning as the preferred first defense method of controlling fugitive dust. NFPA 654 states, “Vigorous sweeping or blowing down with steam or compressed air produces dust clouds.” Specifics on NFPA standards in relation to particular industries will be covered later.

Despite the recommendations of NFPA and OSHA standards, many companies today still use air compressors and brooms to clean surrounding equipment and areas of dust and debris. This may be due to the misconception about industrial vacuum cleaners and sheer oversight when reviewing production processes. When a process has been in place for decades, it becomes somewhat transparent and the standard, ‘if it ain't broke, don't fix it,’ often prevails.

In an effort to bring a greater awareness to the severity of poor housekeeping methods, OSHA launched a National Awareness Program (NEP) focusing on workplaces where combustible dust hazards are likely to be found. The program lists different types of materials that can generate combustible dust.

Industries covered by the NEP include agriculture, food processing (including sugar), chemicals, textiles, forest products, metal processing, tire and rubber manufacturing, paper products, pharmaceuticals, recycling operations and coal handling and processing facilities. These industries deal with a wide range of combustible dusts, including metal dusts such as aluminum and magnesium, wood dust, coal and carbon dust, plastic dusts, biosolids, certain textile materials and organic dusts such as paper, soap, dried blood and sugar.

Although using vacuums isn't new to these industries, many companies in the past have tried to use shop-type vacuums to clean up dust and debris but have found them inadequate under the rigorous demands in the processing industry. In contrast, industrial vacuums can suck up tons of material an hour; these powerful tools are not what people have at home or in their workshops.

Frank Pendleton, the founder of Vac-U-Max, developed the first air-operated industrial vacuum for use in the textile industry. First-hand experience taught him the fire hazard had to be safely and efficiently removed, and he knew the dust and lint surrounding oiled textile machinery was a time bomb ready to go off. Dissatisfied with traditional compressed air hoses that simply blew unwanted debris around and aware that existing electrical vacuums were not only underpowered but also posed a real ignition risk due to sparking on start up, Pendleton began engineering a working solution. In 1954, he introduced the first air-operated vacuum cleaner, or air vac, which was three times as strong as its electrical counterpart and posed no sparking hazard.

VITAL HOUSEKEEPING STANDARDS

Although there have been many technological advances over the last 50 years to prevent dust explosions, good housekeeping is vital. Without the accumulation of significant amounts of combustible dust, catastrophic secondary explosions will not occur.

After the Imperial Sugar refinery dust explosion, OSHA launched an intense campaign targeted at preventing additional mishaps, including distributing a fact sheet, HazardAlert: Combustible Dust Explosions, that addresses secondary explosions. According to the fact sheet, “Due to poor housekeeping practices, an initial explosion may dislodge into the air the dust that is accumulated on the floors, beams and other areas of a workplace. This dispersed dust, if ignited, may cause one or more secondary explosions. These secondary dust explosions can be far more destructive than a primary explosion due to the increased quantity and concentration of dispersed combustible dust. Many deaths in past accidents, as well as other damage, have been caused by secondary explosions.”

The Hazard Alert also references several NFPA standards that address the need for companies to employ vacuum cleaners in housekeeping practices to prevent catastrophic explosions.

After Imperial Sugar's Port Wentworth sugar refinery exploded, OSHA determined that the company willfully refused to remedy similar conditions at their Grammercy plant, resulting in more than $8.7 million of proposed penalties for both plants, the third-highest proposed penalty in OSHA's history.