Combustible Dust Hazard Awareness

Inspection and Enforcement activity with the OSHA Dust NEP. What about the four other states in OSHA Region IV? Which includes Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee with approved State Occupational Safety and Health Plans? These states are not required to adopt the OSHA Dust NEP.

I'd like to thank Roger Bours Sales manager at Fike Europe in Antwerp Area, Belgium for sharing this news story with me so I can share with others in the ComDust network. It's extremely important in conducting risk analysis concerning ComDust hazards that an understanding of probability of occurrence throughout all industries is vital. Here is just one example where a situational proactive awareness will be helpful to all. To translate the entire article, I highly recommend the Google Toolbar, which has the translate function. In Dutch a dust explosion is referred to as a stofexplosie. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnl.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStofexplosie

Nationally, 3,662 violations have been identified during 813 inspections in regards to the OSHA Dust NEP. What about State OSHA Plan States?

What about state OSHA Plan states that are not required to adopt the OSHA Dust NEP?

Over the last 16 months, compliance officers from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have made 26 visits to Alabama companies where employees may be exposed to potential combustible dust hazards.

Is the OSHA Grain Facility Standard Working? Reduction in incidents but still events occur. Can not prevent incidents, only minimize the severity and reduce the probability.

Is the OSHA Grain Facility Standard Working? Reduction in incidents but still events occur, Cannot prevent incidents, only minimize the severity and reduce the probability.

Example of one of the dozens of combustible dust related fires that occur every year yet are unaccounted for by OSHA. Additionally the facility is not a national industry (NAICS)in the OSHA Dust NEP recognized as having a potential for Combustible Dust Explosions/Fires

Example of one of the dozens of combustible dust related fires that occur ever year yet are unaccounted for by OSHA. Additionally the facility is not a national industry (NAICS)in the OSHA Dust NEP recognized as having a potential for Combustible Dust Explosions/Fires

If you want to learn more about such citations then visit the OSHA IMIS database where you'll find a multitude of combustible dust General Duty Clause 5(a)(1) citations. You can learn quite a bit about best engineering practices through abatement measures that are found in the NFPA combustible dust standards with references to these in previous OSHA 5(a)(1) citations.

It would be great if there was a monitor for minimum explosive concentrations (MEC) of combustible dust. Just like there is for LEL of gases and vapors. Which all have the potential for explosive atmospheres as recognized by ATEX in the EU Great post!I

Great overview of the components of a dust collector. Be sure to check out the FarrAPC Plog on helpful information concerning combustible dust hazards

We know that most people faced with buying an industrial dust collection system are probably not familiar with the different components and equipment terms. So we've called them out on this page. Hope it's helpful.

Dust collector part names and descriptions.

Great article. The economic aspect of manufacturing needs to be addressed in the OSHA ComDust rulemaking

Great article. The economic aspect of manufacturing needs to be addressed in the OSHA ComDust rulemaking

This is a very innovative explosion protection bulk material conveyor

Explosion protection Vertical Bulk Material Conveyor. Eliminates explosion risk.

"He was using a cutting torch to remove some metal, some spark then ignited some old paint dust on the floor and it rapidly spread throughout the interior of the paint booth,"

Maybe another another tool for seeking the probability of occurence and severity of the next combustible dust related fire/explosion during the process hazard analysis?

Global Combustible Dust Hazards in breakfast cereal manufacturing.

Just last year there was dust explosion at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where a spark got into the dust collector and ignited the cereal dust causing an explosion, no injuries, according to media reports. Prior to that the Chemical Safety Board reported on three other instances at Breakfast Cereal Manufacturing facilities from 1991-2005 where combustible dust related fires/explosions occured. Mostly it's dust collector related and even the hammermill where ignition sources completed the fire triangle or explosion pentagon. Globally last year there was Grampian Oat Products where a piece of metal getting into the pelleter, causing sparks in Banff, Banffshire, United Kingdom. Grampian Oat Products are Oat millers & packers, Scottish produce in both retail and industrial park sizes of oatflakes, jumbo oatflakes, oatmeals, oatbran and oatflour.

Since 1980, there have been at least 350 such explosions in the U.S.,

Inaccurate reporting stating that since 1980 there have been at least 350 such explosions in the U.S., Instead the reporting should state fires and explosions and not solely explosions. Fires at facilities are the precursors of explosions and very important to acknowledge as a hazard.

Fails to acknowledge fires and solely states explosions since1980. Fires are the precursors to explosions at facilities

Great overview of combustible dust testing. Be sure to check out Farr APC blog and their Twitter page for for weekly updates

Dust testing info

Lehigh Technologies, supplier of engineered rubber powders, announced the completion and commissioning of a sophisticated dust control and explosion prevention system in its Tucker, Georgia facility.

Proactive dust explosion protection measures

The fire resulted in the ignition of dust in the pipes leading to the dust control bag house. Automatic suppression equipment activated, but the fire ignited dust in the dust collector resulting in an audible explosion

Dust Collector fire hazards

A dust-collecting machine caught fire outside American Cabinetry