Combustible Dust Standards: Is Your Company OSHA Compliant?

By Mike Brown, Latta Equipment

Sometimes the smallest particles can be the biggest threat to industrial food processing operations. When those particulates are in the form of combustible dust, the results can be catastrophic. Assess your food processing area’s combustible dust levels before it is too late.

Combustible dust explosions can cause injuries, death, or even the destruction of an entire business. Often, when such catastrophes occur, neither the employees nor the employers were aware the threat even existed. This why it is particularly important that you proactively assess your food processing area’s combustible dust levels before it is too late.

How Does Dust Lead To Explosions?

Five factors must be present to cause combustion:  oxygen, heat, fuel, dispersion, and confinement. If one of these factors is missing, an explosion will not occur. Too often, unfortunately, all of these factors are present and particulate ignition is not only possible, but also likely. Although the resulting explosion is often destructive, it is usually only the beginning of a chain reaction of destructive events.

Often more damaging than the initial explosion caused by combustible dust is the secondary explosion that occurs when chemicals nearby are ignited. These types of explosions can literally destroy an entire enterprise in seconds.

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