Sugar Dust Hazard In Bakery Industry - A Lesson From Imperial Sugar Explosion

In my earlier  post on safety  hazards in bakery I  have mentioned flour and sugar dust as major hazard s in bakeries . Bakery factory owners or plant operators need to keep safety  precautions for these areas with good housekeeping with regular  maintenance  of equipment  in these areas . Sugar dust  are found in Sugar grinders area or  sugar bulk handling  similarly for Flour Dust  in  Flour handling and storage system. Biscuit  dust is also highly inflammable  the biscuit grinder is  major source of biscuit dust .

Explosion and fire has been reported in many units which had sugar or flour dust .One of the major explosion was  in Imperial  sugar  in the year 2008 , Georgia  USA   . 14 people were killed . Safety Head of  Imperial Sugar  shared  their findings in a recent seminar .


A Report

Dust produced by sugar and flour and other materials such as wood, metal, coal and paper, can produce explosive hazards if not contained, claims Imperial Sugar Company.

Kevin Jeffries, Imperial’s safety systems manager, last week gave a talk to confectionery and bakery processors such as Hershey’s and Mars, Kellogg’s, Sara Lee and Krispy Kreme about the importance of maintaining a safe work environment and the potential hazards of uncontrolled sugar dust and other dust during food processing.

  

Imperial said that it has generated a considerable body of knowledge around the explosive properties of sugar dust by analyzing the sugar process and conducting ongoing laboratory tests on all of its products, related raw materials, and intermediates since the explosion at the Port Wentworth refinery in 2008.

Ron Allen, safety symposium organizer and Imperial Sugar’s senior director of environmental health, safety and quality, also presented last week on the explosive characteristics of sugar, and he said that the supplier feels a professional commitment to share its findings on combustible dust technology following on from the deadly blast.

Findings  Highlighted  Following  Facts

• Explosion occurred due to inadequate design of   sugar dust collection system and handling system
• Sugar  dust can ignite  on hot surface and can be sparked  by  static electricity , gas cutting and  welding .
•  Explosion can occur in Silos , Enclosed conveyors  or Bucket elevator.

Read more on
http://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Processing-Packaging/Imperial-shares-know-how-on-sugar-dust-hazards/