Fatal Dust Explosion: Could it Have Been Prevented by a Dust Hazards Analysis?
A fire at the packaging station of a flour mill led to a series of dust explosions that caused over $100 million of damage, disrupted flour supply, and led to the loss of 14 lives. In the U.S., the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 652 Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust was introduced precisely to prevent this type of occurrence. Indeed, the standard contains a deadline — September 7th, 2020* that required companies handling or processing combustible or explosible dusts to have completed a Dust Hazards Analysis (DHA) for their process or facilities. Not all companies have done so.
In this webinar, Dr. Vahid Ebadat looks back at a key dust explosion event and explores the question — would a DHA as prescribed by NFPA 652, if conducted expertly and implemented fully, have prevented the flour dust explosion he describes? There are always lessons to be learned from any industrial dust explosion and fire but by looking back on real life dust explosions, we can check and test the prescribed methodology in NFPA 652 and understand the practical issues in controlling the dust explosion risk in a real facility – and how things can go wrong.
*The deadline for completing a DHA for agricultural and food processing facilities is June 2nd, 2021
Register below of this free webinar!
DATE: March 11, 2021
TIME: 2:00PM ET - 1:00PM CT - 11:00AM PT
Speaker:
Vahid Ebadat, Ph.D., CEO, Stonehouse Process Safety
Vahid Ebadat Ph.D., M.Inst.P, MIET, C.Phys. is CEO of Stonehouse Process Safety, Inc. He has worked extensively as a process safety consultant for the chemical, pharmaceutical, food, paper/wood, and other process industries globally for over 30 years. Dr. Ebadat has published many technical articles and papers and is a regular speaker on various process safety topics, including dust explosion, static electricity, gas & vapor flammability, and thermal decomposition/self-heating hazard assessment and control. Dr. Ebadat is a member of NFPA 77 Technical Committee on Static Electricity.
Sponsors:
Camfil APC
Camfil APC is the world's leading manufacturer of industrial dust, mist and fume collection systems. Camfil APC’s flagship product is the Gold Series X-Flo (GSX) dust collection system that handles all kinds of toxic and combustible dusts and fumes, including fine, fibrous and heavy dust loads. The GSX exceeds OSHA mandates for factory air quality, and when equipped with a Camfil explosion vent, offers the highest combustible dust explosion protection in accordance with NFPA and ATEX standards. www.Camfilapc.com
VAC-U-MAX
Founded in 1954, Belleville, NJ based VAC-U-MAX designed the world’s first industrial vacuum cleaner operating on compressed-air for the highly combustible textile mills industry of New Jersey. VAC-U-MAX product range includes electric and ATEX-certified air-powered industrial vacuum cleaners and central vacuum cleaning systems for handling a wide range of materials including granular, very fine powders, and combustible dusts. www.vac-u-max.com/vacuum
Duration: 1 Hour