OSHA Issues Stern Warning to Grain Handling Facilities (Combustible Dust)

By -
OSHA Issues Stern Warning to Grain Handling Facilities (Combustible Dust)

From Our friends at Nilfisk Industrial Vacuum Blog:

OSHA Issues Stern Warning to Grain Handling Facilities (Combustible Dust)

Following several safety violations in August, OSHA is sternly reminding grain handling facilities to comply with the proper safety and maintenance procedures, outlined in the Grain Handling Facility Standard.
At a recent press conference, David Michael, OSHA Administrator stated, “I am appalled at the outrageously reckless behavior of some operators of grain storage facilities. OSHA has investigated several cases involving worker entry into grain storage bins or elevators where we have found that the employer was aware of the hazard and OSHA standards but has failed to train or protect their workers. OSHA has aggressively pursued these cases and will continue to use our enforcement authority to the fullest extent possible…We will not tolerate noncompliance with our Grain Handling Facilities Standard, and we will take violations of these standards very seriously.”
And if that didn’t get people’s attention, The Wisconsin Agri-Service Association has notified it’s members of OSHA’s new local emphasis program for grain handlers, in which the agency will randomly select a cycle of 10 facilities at a time within each of the four Wisconsin area districts (WI, IL, OH) to inspect them for major hazard areas. The Local Emphasis Program will investigate hazards like engulfment, falls, combustible dust, and electrocution and focus on feed mills, ethanol plants, pet food manufacturers, grain elevators and warehouses.
For facilities looking to bulk up their maintenance efforts in response to OSHA’s strict message, our A17 EXP vacuum cleaner is a top choice among grain handling facilities. It’s an air-operated vacuum (often preferred) that’s ATEX-approved (Ex) for Zones 1, 2, 21 and 22. It’s also designed to meet the requirements for use in Class I, Group D, and Class II, Groups E, F, and G locations. More info on our website.
ShareThis
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 9, 2010 at 5:45 AM

    Thanks for sharing Jeff! We'll be sure to reciprocate---your posts are very informative.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeffrey C. NicholsSeptember 10, 2010 at 6:52 AM

    Thank you Rachel! I look forward to reading more from your company, you guys provide a great service.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Fire Triangle, Fire Tetrahedron and Dust Explosion Pentagon

By -
Image
Fire Triangle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search The fire triangle. The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the ingredients necessary for most fires . [1] It has been replaced in the fire fighting and protection industry partially by the fire tetrahedron (see below). The triangle illustrates a fire requires three elements: heat , fuel , and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen ). The fire is prevented or extinguished by removing any one of them. A fire naturally occurs when the elements are combined in the right mixture. Without sufficient heat , a fire cannot begin, and it cannot continue. Heat can be removed by the application of a substance which reduces the amount of heat available to the fire reaction. This is often water, which requires heat for phase change from water to steam. Introducing sufficient quantities and types of powder or gas in the flame reduces the amount of heat available for t
Read more

Are Spices Flammable?

By -
Is Cinnamon Flammable? - Science - ChefSteps Made from the dried bark of Cinnamomum verum , a tree indigenous to Sri Lanka, cinnamon's exotic perfume and subtle flavor come from its two major components: cinnamaldehyde and eugenol. These two chemicals are volatile, meaning they readily vaporize at temperatures comfortable to humans, which is in fact why cinnamon is so fragrant. But those same vapors are also highly combustible (indeed, combustion only happens in the presence of vapors), making cinnamon a highly flammable material under the right conditions. Now a cloud of cinnamon dust isn’t the kind of thing most people would consider dangerous, but add enough heat and you’ll quickly have an expanding ball of fire known as a dust explosion. For dealing with this situation, we can only recommend a good pair of running shoes. In fact, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issues warnings about cinnamon explosions in food manufacturing plants.
Read more

Functional Safety Audit vs. Functional Safety Assessment

By -
From Chemical Processing Don’t Confuse a Functional Safety Audit with a Functional Safety Assessment Understand the critical differences between the two essential evaluations By John Walkington, ABB Safety Lead Competency Centre Apr 19, 2017 Many people working in safety instrumented system (SIS) project development, execution, operation and maintenance treat a functional safety audit (FS Audit) and a functional safety assessment (FSA) as one and the same. So, based on this assumption, they simply ensure that such an activity is undertaken and perhaps signify the need to perform this evaluation at some point when it appears as a milestone on the project schedule. Moreover, often they call upon someone working on the project, who may or may not have had some previous experience in quality auditing, to deliver this audit/assessment. However, this is not a reasonable approach because the concepts for the audit and assessment markedly differ. An FS Audit provides
Read more