Mike Walters is senior engineer with Camfil APC, a leading manufacturer of dust, mist and fume collection equipment. Walters can be reached at (800) 479-6801 or (870) 933-8048; email filterman@camfil.com; website www.camfilapc.com.
Due to a growing number of catastrophic fires and explosions caused by combustible dust in the last decade, OSHA has recognized combustible dust as a hazard. The presence of dust in a factory is now at the top of the list of items to inspect during an audit.
Combustible dusts are a recognized hazard for industrial facilities everywhere, and performing a hazard analysis is the best way to evaluate your risk of an explosion. In October 2015, the National Fire Protection Association published the new NFPA 652: Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust (2016 edition).
Preventing combustible dust explosions is a topic of widespread concern to EHS managers, and dust collectors are often at risk. Here are six tips that can help prevent dust collector explosions in your plant.
