Are You at Risk from Combustible Dusts? Part 2

Part 2 of 2: Five Steps to Reducing Your Industrial Explosion Risk

By a Business Development Representative, Ahern Fire Protection-Special Hazards

In Part 1 of this two-part series, we worked through the first three steps involved in understanding your combustible dust hazards.

1. Get a sample for dust testing
2. Identify the hazards in your facility
3. Assess the potential ramifications

Once you've received professional dust testing and completed the rest of these steps, you're ready to move onto the final two steps, which we'll cover in this second part. These steps involve performing a dust risk assessment and then creating a risk assessment implementation plan.

If you haven't yet, remember to schedule a dust hazard assessment with J.F. Ahern to kick off the process and make sure your facility is safe.

Step 4: Dust Risk Assessment

Evaluating risk often requires an outside perspective. Because the stakes are high and the regulations are nuanced, you shouldn't feel the need to navigate the dust risk assessment phase alone. Before making any big decisions or investments, consult with experts who understand the ramifications of your findings.

Your first call should likely be to your insurance provider. Many industrial insurers have risk-review specialists on staff. They can provide general guidelines and help you understand how your dust hazards affect your coverage and premiums.

If your situation is more complex, you may want to consider calling a specialty engineering firm. One of these dedicated firms can help you conduct a formal Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) to take your dust risk assessment to the next level.

What is a Process Hazard Analysis and why would I need one?

While OSHA generally requires action for any dust with a Kst value greater than 0, the NFPA 660 Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust provides a framework for performance-based compliance.

It allows a PHA performed by qualified personnel to take the place of expensive explosion protection systems as long as engineering principles prove the risk is minimal. In many cases, you can effectively lower your risk profile without a complete facility overhaul, which the PHA can help you determine. Here are some of the adjustments you may be able to make instead:

• Housekeeping Procedures: Reducing the fuel available for a secondary explosion.
• Processing Equipment: Tweaking machinery to prevent dust cloud formation.
• Process Procedures: Modifying workflows to ensure the five elements of the Dust Explosion Pentagon (which we covered in Part 1) never meet.

Regardless of your findings, ensure everything is professionally documented and ready to be provided to OSHA or your insurance provider at a moment's notice.

Step 5: Risk Assessment Implementation Plan

Once the dust risk assessment is complete, the next phase is putting those findings into action. Your risk assessment implementation plan will likely fall into two categories: internal process adjustments and external hardware integration.

Many of the findings from a PHA can be managed internally by your operations and engineering staff. These often change how your facility runs day-to-day, such as adjusting how materials are handled or ensuring better cleaning and maintenance schedules.

If your assessment determines that the risk cannot be managed through procedures alone, you will need to implement physical protection systems. This is where you lean on your mechanical and fire protection contractors to ensure compliance with standards such as NFPA 660, which has consolidated former NFPA codes 652, 654, 664, and 484. Typical hardware solutions include:

• Explosion Venting: Pressure-relief panels that safely direct a blast away from personnel.
• Isolation Valves: Mechanical or chemical barriers that prevent a flame front from traveling through ductwork to other parts of the plant.
• Suppression Systems: High-speed sensors and extinguishers that suffocate an explosion in its earliest milliseconds.

To help you determine which hardware fits your specific hazard, you can refer to our Explosion Protection Selection Guide.

Need further assistance with combustible dust testing? Remember to contact Ahern today to speak with our industrial fire protection experts about your dust risk assessment.