Alert! Now Is The Time To Be In Compliance With Nfpa 652
Alert! Now is the Time to Be in Compliance with NFPA 652
The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) recently revised its NFPA 652, “Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust.” Compliance with NFPA 652 While there are several edits, the most notable update is the new deadline for industrial manufacturers to complete a dust hazard analysis (DHA).
According to the 2019 revised edition of NFPA 652, a DHA must be completed by September 7, 2020. The standard also requires the DHA be reviewed and updated every five years.
Combustible Dust Hazards in Manufacturing Industries
A DHA is critical for any industry whose manufacturing processes produce dust. Industries whose dust is most susceptible to explosion are those in the food, rubber, plastic, metal, wood, and chemical industries. According to OSHA (Occupational Safety Health Administration), combustible dusts include those made from food products such as apple, carrot, cocoa powder, cotton, gluten, and/or potato. Carbonaceous dusts such as charcoal, cellulose, cork are also combustible. Chemical dusts such as calcium acetate and dextrin, and metal dusts such as aluminum, Magnesium, and zinc are also on the list. Epoxy and melamine resins’ plastic dusts are highly likely to cause a dust explosion.
Rom 1980 to 2005, the CSB (U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board) reported 281 combustible dust incidents that killed 119 workers and injured over 700 others (1). Though safety protection, education, and mitigation processes have greatly enhanced, there were still 105 dust explosions during the 11-year span of 2006-2017 (see chart below).
There were 59 fatalities and 303 injuries that resulted from the 105 explosive dust incidents during 2006-2017. (Courtesy of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board).
Common OSHA Citations for Combustible Dust Safety Violations
In OSHA’s Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program, two of the most common citations were improper housekeeping, which includes combustible dust accumulation, and wrong use of a compressed air hose to blow down combustible dust. These unsafe practices and general lack of maintenance can be unsafe because even a small amount of dust in the wrong area can be explosive.
To be in keeping with OSHA standards and the revised NFPA 652, complete your DHA before the September 2020 deadline to allow good time for the safe and proper removal of your explosive dust.
Hughes Environmental has performed combustible dust cleaning in a wide array of skills throughout the United States and deals with many types of combustible dust. Hughes Environmental abides by standards set by the NFPA, NADCA, and OSHA when performing combustible dust cleaning and uses equipment approved for combustible dust cleaning, such as intrinsically safe vacuums and grounded hoses.
Contact Hughes Environmental today to schedule your combustible dust cleaning; call: 888-845-3952 or complete your request online.
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