About 12 years ago, the food and beverage industry suffered maybe its worst catastrophe at the Imperial Sugar plant near Savannah, Ga. A dust explosion, triggered by an ignition source in one section of the plant, quickly ignited several secondary dust explosions that tore through the plant, injuring 38 and killing 14 workers. As sections of the plant succumbed like dominos to the serial explosions, workers were left in the dark with no electricity and no way out.
The footage provided by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board shows the results of its investigation and explains why the disaster occurred. Sugar spilled from conveyors, and airborne dust was everywhere. The dust collection system connected to hammer mills making powdered sugar was undersized and in disrepair, and it wasn’t connected to the conveyor system, which spilled sugar all along its path.