What is Combustible Dust, What are the Dangers, and how to lessen your risk

ABOUT HUGHES

• Division of LSS holdings• Nationwide geographic footprint of

holdings• Services:– Combustible Dust Cleaning– HVAC Systems/Duct Cleaning– Dry Ice Blasting– Other Industrial Cleaning

OVERVIEW OF

COMBUSTIBLE DUST

OVERVIEW OF COMBUSTIBLE DUST

• What dust is combustible? • Key terms• What Codes govern Combustible

Dust?• Why have a Combustible Dust

cleaning program?

WHAT DUST IS COMBUSTIBLE?

• Food (e.g., candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed)

• Grain• Tobacco• Plastics• Wood• Paper• Pulp• Rubber

WHAT DUST IS COMBUSTIBLE?

• Furniture• Textiles• Pesticides• Pharmaceuticals• Dyes• Metals (e.g., aluminum,

chromium, iron, magnesium, zinc)

• Coal• Fossil fuel power generation

NFPA 61: Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities

– Facility must develop a written housekeeping plan that determines frequency of cleaning to reduce accumulations

– Compressed air may only be used after all machinery in the area and all ignition sources controlled.

– Portable vacuums must be listed for use in Class II, Group G, Division 1 atmospheres.

WHAT CODES GOVERN COMBUSTIBLE DUST?

NFPA 484: Standard for Combustible Metals

– FUGITIVE DUST SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ACCUMULATE.

– Vacuums must be grounded and bonded, using non-sparking, conductive hoses and nozzles, rated for Group E dusts, labeled for use with aluminum only.

– Blow-down not permitted unless all ignition sources shut down.

– No water cleaning for aluminum (few exceptions)– Cleaning should be performed as frequency as

conditions warrant.


NFPA 654: Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids

– Housekeeping frequency shall ensure that the accumulated dust on walls, floors, and horizontal surfaces and concealed surfaces does not exceed the threshold dust mass/accumulation of 1/32”.

– Vacuum cleaners must meet requirements of NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals.

– An inspection testing and maintenance program should be developed, and include

housekeeping.


NFPA 664: Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities

– Employee training shall ensure that employees are knowledgeable about housekeeping policy and procedures.

– Contractors shall be trained and required to comply with the facility’s safe work practices, including housekeeping.

– A deflagration hazard exists when accumulated dust is equivalent to 1/8”.


• 68 Guide for Venting of Deflagrations • 69 Standard on Explosion Prevention

Systems• 70 National Electrical Code• 77 Recommended Practice on Static

Electricity• 85 Boiler and Combustion Systems

Hazards Code• 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces



• 91 Standard for Exhaust Systems for Air Conveying of Vapors, Gases, Mists,

and Noncombustible Particulate Solids• 499 Recommended Practice for the

Classification of Combustible Dusts and of Hazardous (Classified) Locations for Electrical Installations in Chemical Process Areas

• 655 Standard for Prevention of Sulfur Fires and Explosions


• §1910.22 Housekeeping • §1910.307 Hazardous Locations • §1910.1200 Hazard Communication • §1910.269 Electric Power Generation,

Transmission and Distribution (coal handling)

• §1910.272 Grain Handling Facilities • General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the

Occupational Safety and Health Act (Employers must keep workplaces free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm)

STATES WITH COMBUSTIBLE DUST REGULATIONS

• GEORGIA

• WASHINGTON

• OREGON

• INDIANA

• NORTH CAROLINA

• CALIFORNIA

IMPORTANT: Individual state regulations may

exceed OSHA requirements.

STATES ADOPTING 2008 NEP

• AZ• HI• IA• IN• KY• MD• MI• MN• NC

• OR• TN• VA• VT• WA• PR

KEY TERMS

• Primary explosion – Initial explosion, triggers larger explosion

• Secondary explosion – Triggered by primary explosion

• Kst – Dust deflagration index. Measures the relative explosion severity compared to other dusts.

• MIE �� – Minimum ignition energy. Predicts the ease and likelihood of ignition of a dispersed cloud by electrostatic ignition sources.

WHY HAVE A COMBUSTIBL

E DUST CLEANING

PROGRAM?

WHY HAVE A COMBUSTIBLE DUST CLEANING PROGRAM?

HAYES LEMERZ - 2003

A series of explosions severely burned two workers, injured a third, and caused property damage to the Hayes Lemmerz manufacturing plant in Huntington, Indiana.

One of the severely burned men subsequently died. The Hayes Lemmerz plant manufactures cast aluminum automotive wheels, and the explosions were fueled by accumulated aluminum dust, a flammable byproduct of the wheel production process.


IMPERIAL SUGAR- 2008

A huge explosion and fire occurred at the Imperial Sugar refinery northwest of Savannah, Georgia, causing 14 deaths and injuring 38 others, including 14 with serious and life-threatening burns.

The explosion was fueled by massive accumulations of combustible sugar dust throughout the packaging building.


CTA ACOUSTICS- 2003

An explosion and fire damaged the CTA Acoustics manufacturing plant in Corbin, Kentucky, fatally injuring seven workers.

The facility produced fiberglass insulation for the automotive industry. CSB investigators have found that the explosion was fueled by resin dust accumulated in a production area, likely ignited by flames from a malfunctioning oven. The resin involved was a phenolic binder used in producing fiberglass mats.


WEST PHARMACEUTICAL-2003

An explosion and fire destroyed the West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, North Carolina, causing six deaths, dozens of injuries, and hundreds of job losses.

The facility produced rubber stoppers and other products for medical use. The fuel for the explosion was a fine plastic powder, which accumulated above a suspended ceiling over a manufacturing area at the plant and ignited.

THE RISK OF NOT CLEANING

COMBUSTIBLE DUST CORRECTLY

THE RISK OF USING A COMPANY THAT DOESN’T SPECIALIZE IN COMBUSTIBLE DUST

• Federal Mogul Explosion in Blacksburg, VA • Company is facing $11m lawsuit from

contractors claiming “inherently dangerous” working conditions after the contractors caused an aluminum dust explosion while cleaning exhaust ducts at the facility.

• DeBruce Grain Facility Explosion in Wichita, KS• Industrial Maintenance contractor using

unsafe equipment while doing repair work on the dust control work caused explosion.

• OSHA proposed $1.7m fine for DeBruce• Injured workers are suing DeBruce for $16m

THE RISK OF USING A COMPANY THAT DOESN’T SPECIALIZE IN COMBUSTIBLE DUST

• CTA Acoustics in Corbin, KY• Employees routinely used compressed air and

brooms to clean production lines, creating clouds of resin dust.

• A curing oven ignited the combustible resin dust stirred up by workers cleaning the area near the oven.

• The US Chemical Safety Board determined that if CTA had adhered to NFPA16 standards for housekeeping and fire/explosion barriers, the explosions could have been prevented or minimized.

WHAT AREAS DO FACILITIES

TYPICALLY MISS?

WHAT AREAS DO CLIENTS TYPICALLY MISS?

• High surfaces• In a typical industrial plant, the surface

area of the top of the ductwork, conduit, rafters, and other high surfaces is equivalent to 5% of the floor area (Source: NFPA)

• Typically the highest concentration of fine particulate combustible dusts are the high surfaces – top of ductwork rafters, conduit, top of lights


• Walls

• Ceiling Decks

• Dust Collectors

• Inside of ductwork (typically return and exhust, but sometimes supply)

• Other horizontal surfaces – e.g., top of equipment, catwalks, top of railings


• Ductwork (exhaust, return, supply)

• Exhaust Fans

• Dust Collectors

THINGS WE SEE IN THE FIELD

CONTACT:www.HughesEnv.com

888-845-3952 | [email protected]

What is Combustible Dust, What are the Dangers, and how to lessen your risk

Engineering

Transcript of What is Combustible Dust, What are the Dangers, and how to lessen your risk