Dust control is essential for maintaining workplace safety in the food processing and milling industries. Filtration and vacuuming systems are used to remove two of the greatest threats these industries face: deflagration and disease. Both threats are caused by a fine powder of particulates that accumulate in the air within these facilities. The most efficient way to neutralize both risks is to remove these suspended particles from the atmosphere.
Deflagration is an explosion caused by the extremely rapid transfer of heat through the air. This is different from a detonation, which spreads through concussive shock. Thermobaric weapons use the phenomenon of deflagration to cause massive damage to structures by spreading a fine mist of fuel before unleashing a wave of heat.
Factories and processing plants that allow suspension of particulates to propagate are setting up the environment for a similar explosion. A secondary explosion usually follows, precipitated by the rapid rise in pressure caused by deflagration. As the explosion picks up fuel from the air and spreads, it can become even more destructive than the initial detonation. The entire facility can be leveled, resulting in massive loss of life and material. Dust control removes particles from surfaces and the surrounding atmosphere and significantly minimizes this danger.
The “dust explosion pentagram” is an illustrative concept used by OSHA to describe how deflagration works. In every heat explosion, there must be five elements present: oxygen, heat, dispersion, confinement and fuel. When these five elements are present, an explosion occurs. If suspended particulates accumulate in the air, their combined surface-area-to-volume ratio makes them highly combustible. Even mundane substances like grains and minerals can be risky when they are present in fine powder form because no heat is lost through conduction.
The best way to illustrate this is to imagine trying to start a campfire. When branches are broken down and mulched, they take a flame much more quickly because there is more surface area to react to oxidation.
However, oxygen is essential to human life, and confinement is a given within an enclosed workspace. These elements cannot be removed. Reducing hazardous heat sources can help, but even something as slight as a static electric discharge can be enough to trigger a detonation. Removing heat sources is also very costly and often difficult. The most effective way to minimize the risk of deflagration is to remove the elements of dispersion and fuel from the surrounding environment. This is most easily accomplished through dust control.
Removing powders from surfaces and air will also minimize the health risks associated with working in these plants. Suspended particles are readily inhaled. Although the lungs can expel most powders to some extent, they cannot eliminate them entirely. Over time, these substances collect in the lungs and may result in irreversible health conditions. Dust control is critical for safeguarding the health of workers.
Particles expelled by processed grains can cause a permanent condition known as “farmer’s lung.” Farmer’s lung can cause fibrosis, or scarring, of the lungs. This results in reduced breathing capacity and makes it more likely that cancer and other chronic diseases will develop. While removing a source of heat may help curtail deflagration to a point, it will not eliminate the health risks caused by suspended particles. Only dust control, performed through filters and vacuums, can accomplish this. |
