Industrial Fire Prevention

From: GRAINNET News and Information for the Grain, Milling, Feed, Seed and BioFuels Industry Fire Prevention Quiz Multiple Choice (circle the correct answer): Which of the following activities are considered "hot work"? a. Welding b. Cutting c. Grinding Ferrous Metals d. All of the Above The three elements needed for a fire include: a. Fuel b. Oxygen c. Heat d. All of the Above The acronym for proper use of a fire extinguisher is: a. PAST b. PASS c. PALS d. None of the Above True or False: Fire extinguishers should be inspected monthly and serviced annually by a third party. Air pressurized water extinguishers (APW) are suitable for electrical fires. Fire watch should be performed during and after all hot work activities. Class A fires involve flammable liquids. Employees who may be expected to use a portable fi...

Do You Know the Burning Behavior of Your Dust? From Solidsonline.com a great article by John Astad of the Combustible Dust Policy Institute, about burning the behavior of combustible dust. Burning behavior (BZ) of combustible particulate solids is an important property. A property that is evaluated when developing engineering and administrative control measures for protecting the work-place from combustible dust fire and explosion hazards. Burning behavior can be as harmless as salt (BZ 1) or violent as black powder (BZ 6). Where does your dust fit between the two? Knowing fire spread characteristics with BZ classification (severity of consequence) acquired from VDI 2263 test results assist safety professionals with developing a proactive housekeeping strategy. This strategy includes removing excessive dust layers from hard to reach and unseen overhead areas such as suspended ceilings, conduits, and structural girders. It is these overhead areas where fire can spread r...

Combustible Dust Explosions and Fires-ATEX: Revise Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP): Poll Combustible dust related fires and explosions are occurring throughout the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors that are not specifically recognized in Appendix D-1 & D-2 of the OSHA Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP). http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=directives&p_id=3830 Recently a CSB recommendation in the Hoeganaes Case Study instructed OSHA to revise the Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) to add industry codes for facilities that generate metal dusts (e.g., North American Industrial Classification System, NAICS, code 331111 Iron and Steel Mills, and other applicable codes not currently listed).. What about the dozens of other NAICS having a history of combustible dust related fires and explosions that are not recognized in the ComDust NEP? Please participate in this poll by the Combustible Dust P...