SAFET Y POWTECH SECTION GUIDE...
WHATEVER THE SORTS OF ISSUES DISCUSSED INDUSTRY WIDE, SAFETY IS NEVER FAR FROM THE AGENDA. NEWS OF explosions or fires tends to fill breaking news outlets and the issue frequently dominates seminars and conferences. The authoritative database of combustible dust incidents, Dust Safety Science, is widely regarded as a good source when it comes to the important analytics. A recent review which looks at the first half of 2020, highlighted storage silos as the highest percentage, listing 22 fires and six explosions - up on earlier years which found that dust collection systems had the highest percentage, a figure that this time accounted for only 13 per cent. Overall, 26 dust explosions and 94 dust fires were logged globally in that period, incidents that resulted in four deaths and 30 injuries between January and June 2020. The organisation’s founder, Chris Cloney, suggested on the report’s release that some trends in incident reporting may be due to the fallout from the global pandemic, notably, that the number was down “significantly”, on what can be typically seen in the same period over the past five years. But when asked if he expects an increase as industries become more active, he replied: “History has shown that devastating loss incidents often occur during start-up, abnormal working conditions, or with reduced facility crew. We will have to be very vigilant to avoid these incidents in the months ahead.” Wise words. There were also some interesting findings. Dust collection equipment was involved in 13 per cent of
Reports of fires and explosions may have reduced while businesses have been in lockdown but the threat still remains, so the latest trends are worth noting
cases, wood products were involved in 31 per cent and food products played a role in 41 per cent with 43 per cent occurring in agriculture-related facilities. To the wider world, this must appear anomalous. Food, after all, is benign and harmless – not something that can explode. That is, until you look closely at the incidents involving dust, generally regarded as among the most overlooked hazards in food processing. And one only has to recall the one that occurred in 2008 at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Georgia, USA, killing 14 and injuring 42. Powders, when they are put in suspension, can pose a risk of explosion, which is why they are covered by the ATEX directive and the risks analysed in the same way as explosive vapours. Many explosions have been recorded across process industries involving, for example, flour silos. Their frequency, the effects and the lack of awareness was what prompted the EU to set up the ATEX directive in the first place, making it mandatory to define zones where a dust explosive atmosphere can be present and put in place the measures to prevent or mitigate risk. Everyone involved in the processing of powders and bulk solid has a duty to remain fully appraised of the latest vent regulations and compliant with the sort of industry-approved standards designed to minimise the risk explosions. A significant number of powders and bulk solids in industrial use are combustible. These can range from metals and organic materials such as flour to sugar, chemicals, pigments and resins.
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