the other queen of dust

summer dust up

Fan whirs 'round and 'round
Its blades gathering fine dust
Furry grey clumps form

a heavy dusting of sugar

Baltimore City firefighters respond to an explosion at the Domino Sugar plant on Key Highway. Sun photo by Kim Hairston / November 2, 2007

Baltimore firefighters look over damage on the top floor of one of the buildings at the Domino Sugar plant after an explosion in November 2007 blew out windows and ruined equipment. (Sun photo by Kim Hairston / November 2, 2007)

Domino fined $4,000 over '07 explosion
MOSHA notes buildup of sugar dust at refinery

By Gus G. Sentementes
Sun reporter
July 26, 2008

The Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Domino Sugar $4,000 for allowing sugar dust to accumulate in its refinery, which is believed to have caused an explosion last year at the Key Highway plant in South Baltimore, according to a state report.

The Nov. 2 explosion echoed across the harbor, and authorities said they suspected sugar dust might have ignited. Three employees suffered minor injuries, several pieces of equipment were destroyed and dozens of windows were shattered in the blast.

The plant's structure was not seriously damaged, but the report released to The Sun under the Public Information Act noted that there was "evidence of the massive pressure" exerted by the explosion that caused walls to crack and bend, and ceilings and floors to misalign.

The MOSHA report indicated state inspectors found that "employees were routinely unable to perform all the cleaning responsibilities" on equipment involved in milling sugar on three floors of the plant from April through October last year.

State investigators traced the source of the explosion to a failed bearing in one of the sugar mills. The heat buildup around the bearing ignited the sugar powder in the air and sent a "high-pressure combustion wave" through the plant's duct work, which left the plant as a "fire ball," the report states.

The report described how the explosion left a residue of "magma-like sugar several inches thick" covering the floors and stairs. Superheated air also ignited pallets of packing material and finished sugar products, the report states.

The explosion caused damage on four floors, and Domino Sugar officials said they expected to spend about $2.5 million to replace windows, the report states.

Domino's parent comapny, American Sugar Refining Inc., paid the $4,000 fine this year, the report states. In negotiations with MOSHA, officials with American Sugar said they would install three new sugar mills and new dust collectors, increase staff and develop a written housekeeping program as part of their efforts to prevent sugar-dust accumulation.

Officials at the sugar refinery did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun

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NASA insight

March 18, 2004
NASA Explains “Dust Bowl” Drought

NASA scientists have an explanation for one of the worst climatic events in the history of the United States, the “Dust Bowl” drought, which devastated the Great Plains and all but dried up an already depressed American economy in the 1930’s.

Siegfried Schubert of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and colleagues used a computer model developed with modern-era satellite data to look at the climate over the past 100 years. The study found cooler than normal tropical Pacific Ocean surface temperatures combined with warmer tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures to create conditions in the atmosphere that turned America’s breadbasket into a dust bowl from 1931 to 1939. The team’s data is in this week’s Science magazine.

These changes in sea surface temperatures created shifts in the large-scale weather patterns and low level winds that reduced the normal supply of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and inhibited rainfall throughout the Great Plains.



“The 1930s drought was the major climatic event in the nation’s history,” Schubert said. “Just beginning to understand what occurred is really critical to understanding future droughts and the links to global climate change issues we’re experiencing today,” he said.

By discovering the causes behind U.S. droughts, especially severe episodes like the Plains’ dry spell, scientists may recognize and possibly foresee future patterns that could create similar conditions. For example, La Niñas are marked by cooler than normal tropical Pacific Ocean surface water temperatures, which impact weather globally, and also create dry conditions over the Great Plains.

The researchers used NASA’s Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) atmospheric general circulation model and agency computational facilities to conduct the research. The NSIPP model was developed using NASA satellite observations, including; Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System radiation measurements; and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project precipitation data.



The model showed cooler than normal tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures and warmer than normal tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures contributed to a weakened low-level jet stream and changed its course. The jet stream, a ribbon of fast moving air near the Earth’s surface, normally flows westward over the Gulf of Mexico and then turns northward pulling up moisture and dumping rain onto the Great Plains. As the low level jet stream weakened, it traveled farther south than normal. The Great Plains dried up and dust storms formed.

The research shed light on how tropical sea surface temperatures can have a remote response and control over weather and climate. It also confirmed droughts can become localized based on soil moisture levels, especially during summer. When rain is scarce and soil dries, there is less evaporation, which leads to even less precipitation, creating a feedback process that reinforces lack of rainfall.



The study also shed light on droughts throughout the 20th century. Analysis of other major U.S. droughts of the 1900s suggests a cool tropical Pacific was a common factor. Schubert said simulating major events like the 1930s drought provides an excellent test for computer models. While the study finds no indication of a similar Great Plains drought in the near future, it is vital to continue studies relating to climate change. NASA’s current and planned suite of satellite sensors is uniquely poised to answer related climate questions.

NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise funded the study. The Enterprise is dedicated to understanding the Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth System Science to improve climate, weather, and natural hazard prediction using the unique vantage point of space.

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