Sawdust explosion injures two at Indianhead Biomass Services
A second explosion in four months at the Indianhead Biomass Services plant in St. Augustine, Florida has left two laborers severely burned. An OSHA inspection found that two men in their 50s attempted to shut down a sawdust dryer to unclog an outlet vent. This created an explosive environment when smoldering embers ignited the sawdust inside the dryer. Employed at the plant for a year, the men usually did concrete work, but were recently assigned to operate the wood pellet mill dryer. Indianhead Biomass Services is a solid waste disposal facility and processing plant.
OSHA issued eight safety citations to the company following the second explosion on July 29, 2014. Proposed penalties total $91,000. The first explosion in March 2014 permanently disabled one worker and another suffered a leg injury while making modifications to a wood gas heat exchanger. As a result of its inspection after the first explosion, OSHA issued the company two willful and seven serious violations in August 2014.