24 BS&B SAFETY SYSTEMS ANDRITZ


The next phase in dust explosion protection


Recently published in the US, new standards for dust explosion protection specify that facilities must complete this dust hazard analysis within three years. PPL reports


Pulp Paper & Logistics


A range of technical measures is often required to protect equipment and personnel: options include passive devises like vents and or containment systems and active devices like explosion suppression (or spark detection) and extinguishing systems


that could be categorised as combustible dusts or particulate solids, new NFPA Standards and a first deadline to conduct a dust hazard analysis are now on the books.


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The publication of NFPA 652 – the Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust (2016) – consolidates best engineering practices and provides


November/December 2017


or facilities that manufacture, process, blend, convey, repackage, generate or handle items


reference to all of the existing combustible dust standards in a single, overarching document that applies to all facilities that handle potentially explosive dusts. However, the standard goes


a step further by establishing a deadline for owners and operators of at-risk facilities to conduct a dust hazard analysis. According to Geof Brazier of BS&B Pressure Safety Management, a manufacturer of dust explosion prevention and protection technologies, NFPA 652


specifies facilities must complete this dust hazard analysis within three years. However, recent revisions to NFPA 654 and 61 that additionally apply to many facilities have extended that deadline to five years. Brazier adds that NFPA 652 is


requiring owners and operators of at-risk facilities to evaluate a a variety of protection or hazard mitigation devices, including passive devices like vents or containment systems along with active devices such as explosion


suppression or spark detection and extinguishing systems. In addition, chemical or mechanical isolation devices are required to protect connected equipment and piping from propagating to a secondary event, which can often be more destructive.


Explosion vents During the early stages of a dust or gas explosion, explosion vents open rapidly at a predetermined burst pressure, allowing the


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