Industrial Fire Prevention

Here is a good article from our friends at Safety Daily Advisor on fire hazards in the workplace.  Many times while touring plants I  notice many of the common fire hazard issues listed in this article, especially layers of combustible dust on the ground and on machinery, along with other combustible materials and ignition sources. On an average day, there are more than 200 workplace fires in this country. Annually, those fires kill hundreds of workers, injure many thousands more, and cost American businesses billions of dollars in damage and lost productivity. Unfortunately, there are dozens of ways workplace fires can start. You have to be on top of potential fire hazards all the time to make sure that your facility doesn't become part of the statistics. 8 Common Fire Hazards A successful fire prevention program begins with identifying all potential fire hazards. Here's a list of the most common (you may have others to add to the list): Scrap and trash. When waste ...

NANO POWDERS The interesting thing about nanopowders is the particle size and surface area, making them appear at first glance potentially highly combustible similar to vapor cloud or hybrid mixtures, but they also tend to agglomerate. Particle size, shape, charge, concentration, humidity etc. all affect agglomeration. Consequently, agglomeration (and de-agglomeration in testing) can throw off combustible testing results!  Another interesting note is that the finer the particle, the lighter and higher it will travel and settle, so dust collection (and therefore protection - fire, explosion and personal) becomes even more important. On our Linked-In network The Combustible Dust Forum, Robert Dumbrowski at Nanoview Associates asked the following question: Possible Increased Combustible Dust Explosions Due to the Increased Industrial Use of Nano Powders? Rachel Brutosky, at Nilfisk-Advance America did some research and found this from the EPA: * Nanoma...