Purdue Hosting Grain Dust Explosion Workshop on Sept. 15

Purdue University Exentsion and the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are co-sponsoring a workshop and on-site program in at the Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette, IN on Sept. 15 on prevention of grain dust combustion and explosion.

Running from 8 a.m. to noon, the workshop aims to help farmers and grain handling facilities understand proper grain unloading, hazards, and advanced engineering controls. A dust explosion demonstration will take place during the session.

“There are, on average, 10 grain dust explosions in the United States each year,” said one of the workshop’s presenters, Kingsly Ambrose, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University, in a statement. “These explosions can cause damage, injury, and death. Our goal is to hopefully reduce these numbers by raising awareness of the perils of grain dust explosion.”

Purdue said its combustible dust workshop can be presented on-site at facilities in Indiana and other US states and customized to meet the needs of the particular company or facility.

“Both large and small facilities that want to provide safety training for their employees can take advantage of this program,” said Chad Martin, a Purdue Extension renewable energy specialist who is a presenter in the workshop.

To register or for more information, contact Chad Martin at (765) 496-3964 or email [email protected]