Combustible Dust Hazards

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) warns that any combustible material can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form. If such a dust is suspended in air in the right concentration, and under certain conditions, it can become explosible.
Even materials that do not burn in larger pieces (such as aluminum or iron), given the proper conditions, can be explosible in dust form reports OSHA. The force from such an explosion can cause deaths, injuries and the destruction of entire buildings or factories.
The agency goes on to caution that a wide variety of materials that can be explosible in dust form exist. Examples of these materials include: food (e.g., candy, sugar, spice, starch, flour, feed), grain, tobacco, plastics, wood, paper, pulp, rubber, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, coal and metals (e.g., aluminum, chromium, iron, magnesium, and zinc). These materials are used in a broad range of industries and processes, such as agriculture, chemical manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, furniture manufacturing, textiles, fossil fuel power generation, recycling operations, and metal working and processing.
In many combustible dust incidents, employers and employees were unaware that a hazard even existed. Fortunately, there are ways to monitor indoor conditions and test for combustible dusts. There are also professionals that can train employees and managers to implement dust control, ignition control, prevention and protection measures to mitigate combustible dust dangers.
These are just a few of the many things to know about combustible dusts. To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark www.csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. www.emsl.com
LA Testing www.latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental www.zimmetry.com
CTSI www.ctsiweb.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine www.healthyind...