Incidents involving the storage of aluminium powder has unfortunately occurred with some frequency over the past decade. Here is a recent incident emphasizing the hazard of aluminium powder storage.
On the week of July 4,
2021, a fire broke out in an aluminum powder storage warehouse of a manufacturer
in a city in East Asia, around 5 PM . Aluminum powder is a water-resistant
material that causes a fire when it comes into contact with water. Special
rescue teams are dispatched to extinguish the fire. Authorities presume that
the aluminum spontaneously ignited when rainwater and moisture that flowed into
the storage warehouse came into contact with the metal.
There were no casualties, and the fire department extinguished the fire within 12 hours. The warehouse contained 1000 tons of aluminium powder.
According to the local Fire Station, after
receiving a fire report the day before, 130 firefighters and 32 equipment were
put in to extinguish the fire.
In the process of extinguishing the fire, the fire
department decided that aluminum powder reacted with water and caused an explosion,
and that it was impossible to extinguish using water. I also experienced
difficulties. The fire was completely extinguished within 12 hours of the
firefighting operation, and there were no casualties.
We are ecstatic that the fire department knew that water could not be used. The proper method for extinguishing a aluminium powder or dust fire is by smoldering the flames with an inert material. What the inert material is used varies with what is available. We have reported on incidents where sand, dirt, stone, gravel, etc. were used.
If your firm either
produces or stores aluminium powder we urge you to print this post and ask “can
this incident occur at our workplace?” That simple question can potentially result
in making your workplace safer.
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