Industrial Fire Prevention

FromPowder/Bulk Solids Four Steps to Control Combustible Dust in Your Plant Hi-Vac manifold piping system to help clean up chips and cuttings from machine centers According to the Spring 2015 Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs report, combustible dust explosions have been an OSHA focus for years. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board reported in late 2006 that 199 workers had died in 2005 alone as a result of combustible dust events. OSHA has increasingly focused on how to prevent explosions caused by combustible dust. Together with the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA published a bulletin in November 2014 titled, “Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions.” According to the bulletin, there are three components of a dust explosion, and those are dust, an ignition source (usually heat), and oxygen in the air that helps the fire spread rapidly. Together with hazard assessment, OSHA suggests in the bul...

  From our friends at  Nilfiskcfm 5 Major Causes of Industrial Fires and Explosions July 5, 2016 Industrial fires and explosions cost companies and governments billions of dollars every year, not to mention the loss of life, which can’t be described in monetary terms. According to the most  recent fire statistics  from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): An average of 37,000 fires occur at industrial and manufacturing properties every year. These incidents result in: 18 civilian deaths, 279 civilian injuries, and $1 billion in direct property damage. These disasters happen for many reasons, often because managers and employees aren’t aware of the risks that surround them at work every day. Here are five of the most common causes of industrial fires and explosions. 1. Combustible dust Often overlooked, and highly deadly, combustible dust is a major cause of fire in  food manufacturing , woodworking, chemical manufacturing, metalworking, pharmaceutica...

How to keep from blowing up and burning down your wood pelleting operation. “You know you are making fuel, right?” This is a question I often found myself asking as new wood pellet and biomass plants started sprouting up all over the Midwest, Northeastern States, and Canada, but especially here in the Southeast United States. And I didn’t say this to be rude, but to point out potential combustible dust and ignition issues. We have been making wood flour in North America for decades in the forest products, wood products, secondary wood products, and especially in the MDF Medium Density Fiberboard and other related industries. Yet there seemed to be little technology transfer. Especially in fire and explosion prevention and protection. Every engineering firm and large equipment manufacturer seemed to think they could build a wood pellet plant better than the last. So, naturally many of the designs are different. Some are efficient, some not so much. Some are built w...