"Dust explosion .....one employee transported to hospital"

 

The hazard of aluminium dust explosions and fires are now well known in the aluminum industry. Prior to this acceptance aluminium dust and fines was considered a housekeeping issue. That changed over a series of catestrophes that claimed several hundred workers because of an aluminium dust explosion. Here is a recent incident highlighting this hazard that so many in our industry recognize for what is….potentially deadly.

In the afternoon of the 25th, there was a dust explosion at a factory that manufactures aluminum products in (city name omitted). One worker was injured.

 

Shortly after 1:00 p.m., a male employee of a company that manufactures aluminum products in (city name and provincial name omitted), reported to the fire department that aluminum powder had exploded.

 

According to the fire department, a male worker who is believed to have suffered burns to his face and arms when the explosion occurred was taken to the hospital. There is no difference in life.

Fire and police are assessing the factory at the scene and investigating the detailed situation and cause of the explosion.

 

We pray that the injured worker recovers fully from their injuries. We are surprised by the reports of the injuries because the news video shows workers wearing the proper ppe. We chose not to post the video or a photo from that video because the text would give away its location and company. But, back to the ppe. This company is a manufacturer of aluminium powder so I wonder why the worker was not wearing the proper ppe. Maybe it was a maintenance worker. We will search for further information and post if we find it. The country where the incident occurs typically does not publicly report incidents in our experience. We assume the reluctance to publicly acknowledge incidents is related to cultural and heritage norms. But, we do know that many incidents occur. We wonder how many incidents in this country could have been prevented if companies told each other what they had experienced. Maybe, just maybe a workers injury or life could have been saved.

 

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