Lift trucks can explode or catch fire. And it happens more often than you might imagine. Every time the results are costly and often tragic. Consider these three instances.

• After a Kentucky foam insulation factory blew up killing 66 people, neither company managers nor government authorities could identify the cause. But three months after the explosion, the company ordered a fleet of explosion-proof trucks.
• At a chemical manufacturer in New Jersey, there was a spill in a mixing room that caused an evacuation of the plant. A lift truck driver volunteered to go back in to unload a mixing vat. Just 15 minutes later, there was an explosion that killed the driver and burned the plant to the ground.
• A lift truck driver at a 1.2 million square foot warehouse in Pennsylvania put a fork through a pallet load of carburetor cleaner. The resulting fire was so intense that the fire doors were closed. Unfortunately, flammables stored throughout the warehouse exploded, burning the warehouse to the ground.

In each case, management was most likely unaware of the potential dangers of operating without explosion-proof lift trucks. Yet, the danger was clearly there. And that's where lift trucks rated EE and EX by the ANSI/UL 583 standard come into the picture.

"EE trucks have all electrical motors and electrical equipment enclosed and are sometimes called 'spark enclosed'," explains Ed Campbell, sales manager of Landoll Corp. (540-582-3000). These trucks are typically used when flammable liquids and gases are in containers.

Campbell continues to say that EX trucks meet the same criteria as EE but also "have all electrical fittings and equipment sealed so that they can operate in areas where the atmosphere contains flammable gases, dust or fibers." Some EX models also have bronze clad forks and bronze bumper strips around the perimeter of the frame to prevent sparking when in contact with other materials.

Where these trucks should be used is dictated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Various classes, divisions and groups are defined, and the various trucks on the market rated for specific applications.

OSHA (800-321-6742) devotes part of 1910.178Powered Industrial Trucks to explosion-proof units. For example, the section on EX trucks says: "Only power operated industrial trucks designated as EX can be used in atmospheres in which combustible dust is or may be in suspension continuously, intermittently, or periodically under normal operating conditions, in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures or where mechanical failure or normal operation of machinery or equipment might cause such mixtures to be produced."

The Factory Mutual Hazardous Directory (401-275-3000) says: "Type EE trucks can be considered spark-enclosed but they are not explosion-proof or dust tight and must not be used in hazardous locations requiring such equipment."

In other words, EE trucks are not technically explosion-proof. However, both EE and EX trucks are typically part of a discussion about explosion-proof models.

"Users are confused about EX and EE trucks," says Greg Russell, president of American Specialty Equipment which offers Gregory EX Forklifts (973-882-3190). "There's no formal jury to determine whether or not your risk assessment points to either truck," he adds. In most cases, the final arbiter is the company's insurance carrier that may or may not require the right type of truck for the conditions.

Another key issue with these trucks is price. They come at a considerable premium to standard lift trucks.

"An EX counterbalanced truck is somewhere between $70,000 and $80,000 with battery and charger. A standard sitdown counterbalanced electric is around $25,000 with battery and charger," says Campbell. A walkie pallet truck with an EE rating sells for $8,400 while a pallet truck with an EX rating sells for $30,000, adds Russell. The difference in the construction of the two creates the difference in price.

As a result, there is often resistance to buying these models. "The smaller the corporation, the more its management resists," says one safety expert.

Some industries, like pharmaceutical and cosmetics, are extremely safety conscious and use explosion-proof trucks extensively if not exclusively. Regardless of industry, a change in product mix that introduces flammable or explosive materials to a facility makes it imperative to inform management and evaluate the need for new trucks, say the experts.

Nevertheless, explosions and loss of life continue in U.S. plants. "Do you know that in five years there have been 13 fires and explosions in plastic recycling plants alone in the U.S. and Canada?" asks Russell.

Both EE and EX trucks are available in a wide range of models from pallet trucks to sitdown counterbalanced. However, they are offered by a limited number of suppliers. Two import them from Europe – Linde (843-875-8000), and the Sichelschmidt line is offered in the United States by Servo-Lift (973-442-7878). Both Gregory and Landoll are U.S. based.

"It's better to be safe than sorry" is especially true when the result could be a smoking hole in the ground.