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Dust Control & Spontaneously Combusting Tortilla Chips - Did you see this?

Written by Fauske & Associates | Aug 9, 2018 5:00:00 AM

Foodprocessing.com.au just posted the article by this name.  It states: “Grain dust causes more fire and explosion incidents than any other dust, but pistachios, oregano, powdered milk, fishmeal and pet food have been implicated in recent dust explosions.”

A Texas food processing facility changed its procedures without first conducting a dust hazards analysis (DHA).  Anytime a new process is introduced in the manufacturing of a product, a process hazards analysis (PHA) should be conducted.  A proper Process Safety Management Plan (PSM) Plan would encompass these necessary items to keep you and your facilty safe. 

The article also states: "Explosible dust clouds easily form inside material handling or processing equipment when bins are being filled, powders are being transferred or dust is being collected in a dust collector.

Dust collectors are a leading equipment type implicated in dust explosions — pretty inevitable really as they combine four of the five factors necessary for an explosion. It was dust that caused the 2017 explosion in the 3D Idapro Solutions plant where carrots and potatoes used in pet foods are processed. One person was injured.

Dust collectors are adjunct components to pneumatic conveying systems, removing atmospheric dust as a safeguard to the kind of secondary explosion that devastated the Imperial Sugar refinery in Georgia a decade ago, killing 14 workers and injuring scores."

Whether collecting dust for testing from a new plant or existing dust collection equipment you may have questions. For more information and videos to help with this, please visit our combustible dust hazards analysis (DHA) testing page or view one of these articles:

For more information regarding plant safety assessments, please contact info@fauske.com, 630-887-5213.
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