10 DUST COLLECTOR SAFETY TIPS

T I P S F O R M A K I N G Y O U R D U S T C O L L E C T O R A S S A F E A S P O S S I B L E

A heavy-duty collector, constructed of thicker gauge metal and with a higher pressure rating, will stand up better in the event of a combustible dust explosion. It will also enable you to use a simpler and less costly explosion protection system to comply with NFPA standards.

LOOK FOR A DUST COLLECTOR WITH A HIGHER PRESSURE RATING. 1

Ducting should be equipped with dampers and valves designed to minimize the risk of explosion within these components.2DON’T OVERLOOK THE DUCTWORK

3NEVER STORE DUST IN THE

HOPPER

Dust sitting in a hopper creates a potential fire or explosion risk, and

may also affect performance adversely by clogging up the system and

preventing the pulse-cleaning system from doing its job.

DON’T USE A PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER (PLC) TO CONTROL PULSE-CLEANING OF FILTERS.4 Pulse-cleaning relies on very brief (i.e.,

150-millisecond), high-energy bursts of compressed air to blow dirt off the filter surfaces. With a PLC, the valve typically opens too slowly for proper pulsing to occur.

DON’T RELY ON FILTER PERCENTAGE EFFICIENCIES OR MERV RATINGS TO PREDICT COMPLIANCE.

The EPA and OSHA don’t care about percentage efficiency claims: They want to know that emissions will be at or below required thresholds. Ask the filtration manufacturer for a written guarantee of emissions performance stated as grains per cubic foot.5

CONSIDER EASE AND SAFETY OF FILTER CHANGE-OUT.

6 The first goal should be no confined space entry – i.e., workers should ideally never have to enter the dust collector to change the filters. Are the filters positioned for ease of access? Do they slide in and out of the housing readily?

REDUCE CHANGE-OUT FREQUENCY WITH LONG-LIFE FILTERS7 Extended-life cartridge filters available in today’s market can reduce replacement frequency – minimizing worker exposure to dust, saving on maintenance and disposal costs, and reducing landfill impact.

For spark-generating applications, a range of features and technologies are available, from flame-retardant filter media to spark arrestors in the form of drop-out boxes, perforated screens or cyclone devices installed at collector inlets. Fire sprinkler systems may also be required with some installations.

8OPTIMIZE FIRE PREVENTION

OSHA-compliant railed safety platforms and caged ladders can prevent slips and falls when workers access the collector for service. Lock-out/tag-out doors prevent injury caused by inadvertent opening of doors during a pulsing cycle and/or exposure to hazardous dust. Where highly toxic dust is being handled, a bag-in/bag-out (BIBO) containment system may be required to isolate workers from used filters during change-out.

EVALUATE NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL SAFETY ACCESSORIES9

You might also want to equip your collector with a safety monitoring filter.

This is a secondary bank ofhigh efficiency air filters that prevent

collected dust from re-entering the workspace if there should be a

leak in the dust collector’s primary filtering system.

10CONSIDER A

SAFETYMONITORING

FILTER

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