"aluminum dust ....two hurt...one (dead)"

Housekeeping is overlooked at many workplaces for a myriad of reasons. The main reason in our opinion plants are unkept and housekeeping is not done is because the plant manager allows it. It really is as simple as that. Here is a recent incident highlighting the hazard associated with aluminum dust accumulation.

On October 25, aluminum dust caught fire on an area of ​​40 square meters in the production workshop of an organization for the production of heating radiators. The incident caused various injuries to several employees, and one 54-year-old employee of the enterprise died. The investigative department for the (name omitted) district initiated a criminal case on the death of a person under (name of law- of the Criminal Code of the (country name omitted) (violation of labor protection requirements resulting in the death of a person through negligence). Currently, investigators of the (country) continue to establish all the circumstances of the incident, a complex of examinations has been appointed, and technical documentation has been withdrawn.

In the course of investigative measures, those responsible for the fact that labor safety requirements at work were not observed were identified.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We pray that the injured workers recover from the injuries.

Flash fires involving aluminum fines or dust occur when the fines become airborne. When this occurs in an enclosed or partially enclosed area is a confined space a dust explosion can occur. From the photos in this catastrophe, it appears a dust explosion occurred.

In our experience dust accumulation can be corrected in a combination of two ways, good housekeeping and engineering controls.

If further information comes forth on this tragedy. We will post an update.

The Aluminium Times and Light Metal Age magazine had numerous articles on this topic.  They can be found here.

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