The hazards associated with aluminium fines and powder for so long were understandably ignored. The accumulation of aluminum powder was considered a nuisance and a housekeeping issue. Here is a recent incident highlighting the seriousness of aluminium dust/powder fires.
Aluminum powder, inside a
machine used for laser cutting processes, caught fire this afternoon in a
company in the (name omitted) area in (name omitted). The firefighters
intervened on the spot, as the staff of the company itself could not extinguish
the fire using water. The firefighters then proceeded to disassemble the
machinery and, therefore, to throw sand on the incandescent dust. No worker was
injured.
The same firefighters
intervened, also this afternoon, in (name omitted) in (name omitted) for a fire
in an office in (name omitted). When they arrived on the scene, the
firefighters found that the flames came from a basket with waste paper inside.
The damage is limited.
We are thankful
no one was injured in this incident. We question if the workplace had the necessary
fire extinguishers nor education of the hazard. They placed water onto the
fire. That is BAD.
Why? Because dust/powder
in pile that is burning is a hazard that can be made worse by pour water on to it.
What can happen is the pile of powder can become airborne in a cloud. If it
ignites there can be a flash fire. If there are walls or confined areas the flash
fire will turn into a dust explosion. All bad that can be minimized with the
proper Class D (metal fires) extinguisher.
Please comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment