Combustible Dust And Recovery Guidelines For Grains

The potential for explosions to occur from dust collections made of flour, sugar, cinnamon or grain particles, for example, poses a significant risk to employee safety, facility maintenance and food purity. Traditional plant maintenance methods like sweeping and blowing down with compressed air only make the situation worse by spreading the explosive dust around and making it airborne. This actually increases your chances of a combustible dust explosion.

There is a lot of confusion in the food manufacturing sector regarding hazardous materials, particularly combustible dust. In short, just because your facility handles combustible dust does not mean you need an explosion proof vacuum but you might. According to OSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) on combustible dust, dust accumulations greater than 1/32” or the thickness of a paper clip are considered hazardous. The standard calls for electrical vacuums used in dusty areas to be approved for the hazard-classified location.