How to Safely Work With Combustible Dust
The strategies for managing combustible dust in and around manufacturing plants and processing facilities.
- By Brian Richardson
- May 01, 2024
If your manufacturing or production processes generate airborne particles, you (should) know that handling combustible dust is a challenging responsibility. However, you can implement effective measures to mitigate risks and safeguard operations despite the potential hazards. Through meticulous planning and keen attention to detail, you can reduce the dangers associated with combustible dust. Understanding the factors that contribute to explosions, as well as developing and executing a comprehensive safety protocol, can help you to manage the potential for harm to personnel and property.
This article examines the strategies for managing combustible dust in and around manufacturing plants and processing facilities. Armed with this knowledge, you can quickly identify unsafe conditions in the work environment, assess the risk posed to employees and determine appropriate actions to enhance workplace safety.
What Causes a Dust Explosion
When fuel, confinement, dispersion, oxygen and ignition come together, a dust explosion is looming. Dust is the fuel. Conditions for a dust explosion arise when a confined and concentrated combustible dust cloud encounters an ignition source. While activities such as vacuuming aid in dust removal from surfaces, an effectively designed and installed industrial dust collection system is essential for comprehensive threat mitigation, particularly for airborne particles.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that while extracting combustible dust from the air, a dust collector itself can pose a risk from dust explosions if not equipped with adequate safety features. Merely by functioning, a dust collector establishes conditions where four of the five elements necessary for an explosion come together.
As dust is drawn into the collector, it becomes confined. The pulse cleaning system, which utilizes compressed air to dislodge dust from the filter cartridges, will disperse dust into the airstream, forming a cloud. Subsequently, the dust mixes with oxygen-rich air, setting the stage for an explosion. All you need is an ignition source, like a spark, to enter the collector, causing pressure within to escalate rapidly. Without suitable explosion protection measures, the housing may rupture, unleashing a pressure wave along with heat, flames and hazardous projectiles into surrounding work areas.
A dust collector conforming to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and meticulously designed, sized and installed to suit the requirements of a particular manufacturing or processing facility provides optimal defense against dust fires and explosions. NFPA 652 Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust mandates that all facilities engaged in the production or handling of combustible dust must undertake a dust hazard analysis to adhere to OSHA regulations. (Note that the NFPA is currently working toward consolidating its six separate combustible dust standards into one, which will be named NFPA 660 Standard for Combustible Dusts.)
This article originally appeared in the April/May 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.