It’s important to clean up combustible dust accumulations, but the method and equipment used must be suitable and designed for the dangerous environment.
In a recent explosion at a manufacturing plant in Massachusetts, one person was critically injured with burns on 90 percent of his body, and two others were injured in an explosion that occurred while a worker was vacuuming machinery.
According to the State Fire Marshall’s office, the vacuum was improperly grounded, causing a build-up of static charge and igniting the dust, leading to an explosion.
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Properly grounding equipment including vacuums, lifts, and hoses is critical when handling combustible dust hazards. Hughes Environmental uses intrinsically safe, explosion proof vacuums and grounded hoses when cleaning combustible dust. Without these measures the simple task of cleaning combustible dust can cause a fire or explosion, as the Massachusetts manufacturing plant discovered.
For more information on safely cleaning combustible dust, contact Hughes Environmental.
