Industrial Fire Prevention

From Risk management Masters: Risks can come from many directions, including legal, financial, disaster (natural or man made) and health, among other areas. The following top 50 risk management blogs looks at those areas and offers current information about management solutions for businesses across the spectrum. These blogs also look at various topics such as project management , technology, communications, safety and business continuity.

U.S. Industrial Fires/Explosions in this weeks news: VIDEO: Explosion at South Los Angeles Titanium Storage Warehouse for Golf Club Manufacturing | The Cardinal Source: arlingtoncardinal.com LA Fire Dept spraying water on a titanium fire. Guess what happens next? When exposed to elevated temperatures in air, titanium readily reacts with oxygen. This occurs at 1,200 °C (2,190 °F) in air, and at 610 °C (1,130 °F) in pure oxygen, forming titanium dioxide. As a result, the metal cannot be melted in open air since it burns before the melting point is reached. Melting is only possible in an inert atmosphere or in a vacuum.  Titanium can react explosively when contacted with water or even humid air. Video: Fire destroys former Ethan Allen plant Workers accidentally ignite blaze that levels the 220,000-square-foot. Watch the video. According to GoErie.com, state police fire marshals said fire was accidentally ignited by workers who were using tor...

From Feedstuffs.com Jacqui Fatka. OSHA looks to expand authority without legislation (12/7/2010) Jacqui Fatka Coverage from the 2010 National Grain and Feed Assn. Country Elevator Meeting held in Indianapolis, Ind. Dec. 5-7.  Now that the Democrats are no longer the controlling majority in the House, many of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) objectives can't be achieved though legislation. Moving forward, Jonathan Snare, partner in the labor and employment practice group for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Washington, D.C., said he expects OSHA to continue to implement as many policies as they can through non-legislative means. Snare, a former OSHA administrator under the Bush administration, pointed out that many of the top officials including assistant secretary of labor for OSHA David Michaels and deputy assistant secretary Jordan Barab have no private sector work experience, take an anti-employer view, ...

Case study from Allianz Risk Consulting Explosion Hazard in a Starch Facility: Risk Management in Practice   Allianz Risk Consultants are trained to assess many different types of risk, including those that can pose a potential personal threat. Oftentimes, the nature of their work puts them in harm's way. Recently, Rod Greenwood, Senior Consulting Engineer, encountered just such a threat when conducting a tour of a National Starch facility in the US. When Rod toured the plant on a recent visit, there was a coating of corn starch on just about everything in sight that was higher than 3 feet (1 m) from the floor.  Two "haze" areas were also found where corn starch suspended in the air made it difficult to see the wall on the other side of the room. Rod realized that this plant posed a safety risk, as fires and explosions could result from the large amounts of corn starch dust.  For safety reasons, the tour was stopped and immediately recommenda...

Journey to Safety Excellence From IMPO a good article discussing the reasons for developing the “journey to safety excellence” strategy by James Johnson, National Safety Council. Q&A With James Johnson, National Safety Council - Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operations Interview by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO James Johnson is responsible for leading National Safety Council advocacy initiatives to reduce deaths and injuries associated with workplace safety. Mr. Johnson works with a diverse group of stakeholders to establish and promote best practices for safety and health processes affecting employees on-the-job. With more than 30 years experience as a safety and health consultant, project manager, and team manager, Mr. Johnson has led development and delivery of progressive safety solutions for companies of all sizes and industries. He has managed multiple risk control disciplines, helping them to align strategy to actionable and measurable initiativ...

By Rich Christianson at woodworkingnetwork.com Pardon Your ComDust An OSHA -mandated combustible dust standard in likely a year or two away, but that doesn’t mean the federal safety agency isn’t already applying increased pressure on manufacturers to clean up their plants. As I witnessed firsthand yesterday at OSHA’s third in a series of Combustible Dust Stakeholder Meetings ( read report ), OSHA is intent on making a ComDust standard real. It’s a rule-making process that might not be happening if not for the Feb. 7, 2008 fatal explosion of Imperial Sugar’s plant in Port Wentworth, GA, that killed 14 and injured dozens of other workers. But happening it is. Ever since the Imperial Sugar tragedy, Congress has taken enhanced interest in safeguarding workers from ComDust hazards and OSHA inspectors have paid greater attention to dust accumulations in the workplace. The most recent example is OSHA’s announcement that it was fining H&H Woodworking of Yonkers, NY, $1...

Excellent post by Dr. Saraf. Familiarity with a process can often lead to complacency! Becoming Numb to Risks July 27th, 2009 | by Dr. Saraf | In our daily lives we often become immune to risks around us. For example, there are around 40,000 annual fatalities from automobile accidents in the US and yet we do not think twice before getting into their cars. We eat a burger ignoring the risks of heart problems! Why do we tend to ignore risks that we are frequently exposed to? To answer this question, I’m going to quote my graduate advisor - Dr. Sam Mannan. The first time your “low fuel” gauge lights up, you might get worried about running out of gas. However, if you make it to the gas station easily, you may not get as concerned the next time and wait some more time before you stop at a gas station. This relaxation of concern and the time you might wait to stop at a gas station after the gauge comes on might increase as you get more comfortable with the “alarm,” “wa...