Correction: Explosions rock small town

Dear Friend, Our last email had a broken link to the interactive dust explosion timeline. We just wanted to let you know it's up and running again. Please check it out at www.iwatchnews.org. Our sincerest apologies,

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Combustible Dust: A Little-Noticed Danger Check out the interactive history of dust explosions in U.S. industrial manufacturing. Since 1980, more than 450 accidents involving combustible dust have killed or injured at least 900 workers across the country – a number federal regulators believe to be a significant undercount. The fuel has varied, but the effects have been similarly devastating. In Gallatin, Tn., it was iron. In Port Wentworth, Ga., sugar. In Kinston, N.C., plastic. Elsewhere, dust from substances as varied as wood, nylon fiber, coal and flour sparked fires and explosions. A dust fire is, in a sense, the result of a perfect storm. The powder has to form a cloud in a confined area and touch an ignition source, such as a spark, flame or overheated pipe. Often, workers don't know that the dust lurking on flat surfaces could, when dispersed in a cloud, fuel a violent explosion. Get the story on how experts, worker safety advocates and government officials have been sounding alarms for years, while a promise to protect workers from the danger has stalled in the face of bureaucratic hurdles, industry pushback and political calculations. In case you missed it...  In the first installment of our Hard Labor investigation, we revealed the story of contract laborer Nick Revetta, who was killed in an explosion at U.S. Steel's Clairton Plant near Pittsburgh. Revetta's survivors recount the disaster and the events that followed.

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