Grain dust explosions are a recurring hazard for grain handlers and processors, said a Purdue report on Tuesday, with nine explosions during 2022, above the 10-year average of 7.8 explosions. But for the first time since 2015, there were no deaths.
“Our research has shown that grain dust explosions have been occurring at a constant rate in the United States over the past decade,” said the report written by Kingsly Ambrose, professor of agricultural engineering.
Eighteen workers were injured by grain dust explosions last year; 15 of them at a grain processing facility in Marego, Iowa, on Dec 8, said the report. The 2022 total for injuries was double the 10-year average.
Since 1958, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska, leading states in corn and soybean production, have had the largest number of explosions.