A lack of preventative maintenance on the explosion suppression system of a bucket elevator was a major factor in an April 2023 explosion at a facility operated by agricultural origination and processing company Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM). The blast happened at ADM’s West Plant in Decatur, Illinois and resulted in the hospitalisation of three employees with burns and other injuries and extensive damage to the grain elevator, federal investigators have found.
Investigators with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responding to the combustible corn germ dust explosion determined that the explosion suppression system on the indoor bucket elevator leg was non-functional and in a state of disrepair. Investigators found the Decatur grain processing facility had not conducted inspections and testing of the explosion suppression systems since late 2016.
OSHA cited ADM for two willful, one serious and one other-than-serious health and safety violations and proposed $324,796 (£265,000) in penalties related to this explosion at the West Plant.
“ADM knows the important role maintenance and testing plays in protecting the lives and health of their workers and their property from two previous explosions and yet failed to follow common industry practices and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards to maintain these protective systems,” said OSHA Area Director Edward Marshall in Peoria, Illinois. “Agriculture dust can explode in mere seconds when an ignition source is readily available. Dispersion of the dust particles can lead to rapid combustion known as deflagration. It causes explosions, worker injuries and extensive damage, as we saw in this case.”
Employers are required to take necessary steps to eliminate grain explosion hazards by using proper dust collection systems and filters, good housekeeping, eliminating potential ignition sources and conducting testing and maintenance of safety systems designed to prevent these tragic incidents.
OSHA currently has an open inspection at ADM’s East Plant after another explosion and fire injured eight workers on 10 September 2023.
