Demystifying the Fire, Explosion and Other Hazards Associated With Combustible Dusts

The fire and explosion hazards associated with combustible dusts are frequently overlooked not only by the facilities that use these dusts, but also the equipment manufacturers and AHJs (fire marshals, insurance carriers, etc.). Because of their complexity, these hazards continue to be missed and combustible dust incidents and near misses continue to occur at an ever-increasing rate. In this session, we’ll discuss the most severe inadequately identified or missed fire, explosion and reactivity hazards often seen during numerous Dust Hazard Analyses. We’ll look at electrostatic bonding and grounding systems, explosion protection and isolation systems, and Class II electrical area classification. We’ll also cover the minimum requirements for a Dust Hazards Analysis specified in the NFPA combustible dust standards, their role in designing facilities and equipment, and some elements of the new NFPA 660 standard.