Purdue releases report on 2020 grain dust explosions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — One of the things that grain facilities have to watch out for when processing or handling grain is explosions from dust.

Kingsly Ambrose, a Purdue University associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, recently released the 2020 annual grain dust explosions report that catalogues the number of deaths and injuries nationwide.

Ambrose said there were eight dust explosions in 2020. The good news is there were no fatalities reported.

There were nine injuries reported, Ambrose said. That is close to the 10-year-average.

Ambrose said the zero fatalities and lower number of injuries is due to the increase in the amount of importance that was placed on safety and training of workers.

“The increase in training has come from the government and training,” he said.

Ambrose said there are a few easy steps individuals can take to help prevent the number of dust explosions that occur, including keeping the facility clean, making sure workers have proper training and properly maintaining equipment.

Ambrose added that he does trainings for workers, too. For more information, contact him at rambrose@purdue.edu.