By now, most manufacturers are familiar with the story of combustible dust. They’ve read about it in the newspaper, “Googled” it online, watched it on CBS’s “60 Minutes” special1, or received a letter from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration informing them their facility is considered high risk for a combustible dust explosion. They have a solid picture in their minds of what an industrial explosion scene looks like: the remnants of a facility, a gaping hole, a collapsed roof, workers covered in soot and blood. It’s like a well-craft ed movie scene, except it’s real. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Combustible dust’
Up In Smoke
Monday, February 8th, 2010When the Dust Settles: Combustible Dust/Housekeeping Webinar!
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009Our first webinar! Yesterday our Product Manager, Corry Luckenbach and Senior District Manager, Ray McCarthy presented a webinar on combustible dust and industrial vacuums. The online seminar (hosted by Occupational Health & Safety magazine) was a big hit, providing educational information regarding proper housekeeping and how to choose the right vacuum for your combustible dust challenges. If you couldn’t attend the live webinar, we hope you’ll check out the recorded version here http://ohsonline.com/webcasts/2009/09/a-guide-to-the-prevention-of-combustible-dust-hazards-through-the-use-of-proper-cleaning-equipment.aspx
Enjoy! And of course, if you have any questions, please shoot us an email at questions@nilfisk-advance.com or visit www.explosionproof-vacuum.com
OSHA Combustible Dust Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009Combustible Dust Rulemaking has officially begun! This proposed rule is a great document that summarizes the combustible dust issue to daten and calls for public comment. It also makes it very clear that OSHA is aware of many unaware…
www.explosionproof-vacuum.com
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009Even though the industrial sector is now very aware of the risks of combustible dust, we are learning firsthand that manufacturer’s still have ALOTof questions. (”Do I really need an explosion-proof vacuum? Does my machinery meet industry recommendations? Can an EXP still be equipped with a HEPA filter? etc.). While we can’t answer everything, (we’re experts on lots of things, but mostly industrial vacuums!), a new microsite, www.explosionproof-vacuum.com strives to answer combustible dust questions, at least as they relate to maintenance procedures and vacuums. Similar sites for the food and pharmaceutical industries are also available (I told you we’re experts on alot of things)! www.foodprocessingvacuum.com and www.pharmaceuticalvacuum.com. More about those later.
Nilfisk CFM in ISSA.com e-newsletter!
Friday, July 17th, 2009Is your vacuum explosion-proof? As featured in the July issue of CleanScene, ISSA.com’s e-newsletter
Fourteen employees were killed and 40 injured when finely ground motes of dust ignited and set off a violent blast at a sugar plant near Savannah, GA, in February of 2008. In addition to the fatalities and a tarnished reputation, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined the company more than US$8 million in workplace violations related to combustible dust. Read more here: http://www.issa.com/?m=articles&event=view&id=3153
Combatting Combustible Dust with a Nilfisk CFM EXP
Monday, May 11th, 2009Are you at risk for a combustible dust explosion?
Friday, May 1st, 2009After decades of work-place explosions leading to hundreds of injuries and fatalities, combustible dust is finally a national headline that OSHA cannot ignore. While there are still no laws regarding combustible dust procedures, the agency has made quite a bit of headway in outlining recommendations for prevention and conducting random audits of “at-risk” facilities. By now, if you are a plant manager that handles dry bulk solids, you should be bulking up your maintenance plan which may include an industrial vacuum purchase–but did you know that using the wrong vacuum can actually add to the risk of a combustible dust explosion? (more…)
Food Ingredient Processor Combats Combustible Dust with a Nilfisk Explosion-Proof Vacuum
Thursday, March 19th, 2009Another dust explosion?!
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009It seems last week’s Coal Dust Explosion at a power plant in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin wasn’t “news” enough for major newspapers to cover in depth. But although there’s hardly a mention of it in mainstream media, a simple search on Google proves there’s quite a bit of outrage regarding the blast, expressed through blogs and online posts. Could it have been prevented? Was OSHA’s recent inspection of the plant adequate? If they were using vacuums, were they explosion-proof? Check out what people are saying:
From “Inside Chemical Plant,” an oridnary chemical Engineers Blog.