Seeking Dust Explosion Case Histories 2

[billstevenson]

I am interested in learning of any dust explosion experiences that can be found that are fully documented. As a side note, I am a member of AIChE, NFPA, and receive both IChemE and CSB news reports. So I have my finger on the pulse of recent events. What I am looking for really are case histories that might be older and have fallen out of ready memory.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[quark]

Try

http://www.gexcon.com

Sometime back I have seen a good video (actually this was a case study) about the dust explosion by a fluidized bed dryer manufacturer (

http://www.glatt.com)

 

[billstevenson]

Thanks for the tip. I went to the Glatt site and did a search on dust explosions but came up with nothing. Can you tell me more so I can find this information?

Regards,

Bill

 

[stookeyfpe]

Bill:

Good luck. I recently wrote an article in Building Standards magazine on this and I think I've gotten my hand on most every report. Unfortunately they did not include the list of incidents I've found.

You may also want to look at Eckhoff's book on dust deflagrations. Its published by Gulf Publishing. It's a very good resource.

FYI, you are probably aware that the CSB will be releasing a paper on this subject this year. I've had a great deal of discussion with their staff and they probably will produce the best compiliation on this subject matter.

 

[billstevenson]

Stookeyfpe,

Thanks. I should have explained more. I am a member of the Technical Committees for NFPA 68, 69, 654, 650 and so on. Rolf Eckhoff is a friend and colleague and his book is prominently on my shelf and constantly referred to. I am well acquainted with the CSB efforts. A mixed bag, frankly but overall good and I support their efforts. Where can I find your article?

Regards,

Bill

 

[quark]

Did you mail them? I think, with your credentials, they should be happy to share the information.

 

[unclesyd]

Just for curiosity have you checked with the insurance carriers? You have to get to the right person to get to their archives.

Also the suppression people like Fike.

 

[billstevenson]

Thanks for your suggestions. Yes, I am in the loop with CSB, work closely with FM Global, and receive their loss history data as it is made available. Should anyone reading this note be interested FM publishes their Loss Prevention Data Sheet 7-76 and their data is in an appendix.

Fike is a direct competitor to my company, but we do share pertinent technical information usually in the context of our committee work. It is quite difficult to get information on explosion incidents. The legal world has subsumed the engineering world when things like this happen for liability reasons.

Regards,

Bill

 

[stookeyfpe]

Bill:

Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the article.

 

[billstevenson]

bstevenson@cvtechnology.com

 

[TangoCleveland]

You can also check Fenwal Protection Systems at

http://www.fenwalprotection.com/default.jsp

We recently had a presentation from Dave Grandaw that covered some dust explosion history.

Larry

 

[billstevenson]

Thanks. Dave and I are competitors and friends.

 

[handee]

Have you checked out any of the books by Trevor Kletz ("What Went Wrong?", "Still Going Wrong", "Intrinsic Safety in Plant Design"). They are full of case histories over the last 20 years or so, not always fully documented, but the references may help.