Among the hazards you face as a manufacturer, combustible dust is one of the most damaging. Dust fire and explosions in industrial facilities result in hundreds of fatalities and injuries. These explosions can also cause other significant losses, including untold amounts of property damage, remediation costs and lost revenue.
Secondary Explosions
The severity of these incidents stems from the fact that an initial, minor explosion can shake loose hidden, accumulated dust or damage a containment system. This in turn triggers secondary explosions, which can be far more destructive than the primary explosion due to the increased quantity and concentration of dispersed combustible dust. Extensive damage and injury can subsequently result from collapsing building components, flying debris and fire.
In many combustible dust incidents, workers and managers were either unaware of the hazard or failed to recognize the deadly potential of dust explosions. Understanding the triggers of combustible dust explosions is essential to protecting your company from loss. By understanding the triggers, you can effectively evaluate the potential hazards related to dust accumulation in your organization and communicate these hazards to your workforce to prevent loss and ensure your employees’ safety.
Hidden Danger
Combustible dust is a solid material that presents a fire or deflagration hazard when suspended in the air in a certain concentration. It can be either organic or metallic dust that is ground into very small particles, fibres, chips, chunks, flakes or a mixture of these.
Combustible materials—and many materials normally considered noncombustible, including metals, wood, plastic, rubber, biosolids, coal, flour, sugar, paper, soap and dried blood—become one component of a fire and explosion hazard when ground into dust during operations or processes such as:
Dangerous Conditions
Settled dust on any surface—be it visible or hidden—can become airborne, presenting the risk of explosion when exposed to any ignition source. When combustible dust accumulates, under certain common conditions, there is an elevated risk of explosion. These include:
Conduct a Facility Dust Hazard Assessment
In order to fully understand the risks at your facility and to assess the potential for dust explosions, conduct a facility analysis and identify the following:
What Can I do to Mitigate Risk?
An explosion could cause severe damage to your facility and put the lives of your employees in jeopardy. Take the following actions to reduce the risk.
Damage Control
Equip your facility with suppression systems that will contain explosions and minimize their danger and damage. A comprehensive system might include pressure-relief venting for equipment, spark and ember detection and extinguishing systems, explosion protection systems and sprinkler systems. Formulate emergency procedures and train employees to follow them in the event of a combustible dust explosion. Procedures should emphasize the two basic ways employees can protect themselves from injury:
Be Prepared
While taking all the steps necessary to be prepared for a combustible dust explosion, you must also ensure your business’s protection through proper risk transfer. The Axis Insurance Group can assist you in securing the protection necessary in the event of any disaster. Contact us to discuss your coverage options.
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