two workers injured when "furnace...malfunctioned"

On our travels we have observed that hazards associated with furnaces is downplayed in many plants. How can we make that statement? We have seen more and more offices located in front of a furnace door. Why? We don’t know. It simply dumbfounds us. But, history has shown that if an explosion occurs and the furnace door is open. The workers in the office, or pedestrians walking by are dead. Dead. Here is a recent incident involving a furnace where thankfully the injuries were minor.

Officials say the workers had just completed standard maintenance on a natural gas furnace when it malfunctioned in February 2019 in the USA.

Officials say the employees had minor injuries and are now back at work.

"We are thankful that these two employees were not seriously injured from the reaction inside the furnace’s chamber and that they’ve been able to return to work. Safety equipment kept the furnace’s door intact, preventing any serious injuries," said Communications Leader. "Maintaining a safe work environment is the top priority at (aluminium company), so a team of (aluminium company) employees and third-party experts have conducted a detailed root cause analysis to prevent this type of incident from happening again."

Officials say a team of (aluminium company) employees and outside experts have conducted an investigation to make sure something like this doesn’t happen in the future.

We pray that the injured workers recover fully from their injuries. We have watched the plant video of this explosion (it was leaked to the news media) and amazed that no one was severely injured or killed. Thankfully no other workers were nearby when the explosion occurred. It is recommended that when a furnace’s combustion system is being maintained or when the furnace is being “relit” after a shutdown that no other workers are present. We wish we could show the explosion video to emphasis the previous point. But, we chose not to because the company name and location is mentioned.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has posted numerous incidents involving furnaces in the past. The next Aluminium Times magazine will have an article about furnace safety.

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